Sonoma County To Reopen Tuesday Alongside State: What To Know

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — Sonoma County Health Officer Dr. Sundari Mase made clear Monday that the County of Sonoma will be aligning with the California Department of Public Health’s plans to remove pandemic-related limitations on restaurants, taverns, movie theaters and other businesses beginning on Tuesday.

According to a county news release, because of tremendous progress in getting people vaccinated and bringing down case counts here in Sonoma County and across the state, Mase underscored that beginning tomorrow:

• Businesses will be able to open up fully for outdoor and indoor service. This includes all restaurants, bars, wineries and breweries.
• Movie theaters, gyms and places of worship also will be allowed to open fully without limits.
• The same is true of museums and family entertainment centers. They also will be allowed to fully open to their normal capacity limits.
• In addition, there will be no more limits on private gatherings at your home, park or business.

Still, Mase urged the public to remain cautious as the virus is still spreading among unvaccinated people in the community despite a drastic reduction in the case rate since a winter surge.

"I am happy to say that we have turned a corner in the pandemic and we are ready to fully reopen our economy,” Mase said Monday during a virtual press briefing. "However, it is too soon to declare 'Mission Accomplished.' We are still finding COVID cases in the community, especially in unvaccinated young people, although we are not seeing the hospitalizations and deaths that we experienced during the darkest days of the pandemic."

MASK GUIDELINES EFFECTIVE JUNE 15 IN CALIFORNIA, SONOMA COUNTY

OUR WORK IS NOT DONE

Sonoma County is poised to exit the state's Blueprint for a Safer Economy in the second least restrictive orange tier with a case rate of 3.9 per 100,000 residents, down from a high of more than 50 in January. Mase credited Sonoma County’s high vaccination rates with containing the spread of the virus.

As of Monday, 73 percent of Sonoma County residents 12 and older were partially vaccinated while 63 percent were fully vaccinated, placing Sonoma County well above the state average and 11th among the 58 counties when it comes to the percentage of residents vaccinated.

With the pace of vaccinations slowing down across the country, Mase reminded the unvaccinated that appointments are plentiful at Sonoma County vaccination clinics.

Here are some mobile vaccine clinics scheduled this week in Sonoma County:

• Coddingtown in Santa Rosa, noon to 6:30 p.m., Thursday, June 17
• Finley Park in Santa Rosa, noon to 6:30 p.m., Friday, June 18
• Elsie Allen High School, noon to 6:30 p.m., Saturday, June 19
• Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Windsor, noon to 6:30 p.m., Sunday, June 20

"We have done a great job of getting shots into the arms of most of our residents," Mase said. "But our work is not done. We are in the long tail of our vaccination campaign, and we will continue to reach out to offer this vital vaccine to anyone who wants it, in many cases bringing it to where they live, work and play."

• SEE ALSO: CA Reopens: 4 Things To Know About Mask Rules