Marin Moves To Orange Tier

MARIN COUNTY, CA — Marin County moved from the red to the orange tier of the state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy during the COVID-19, county officials said Tuesday.

Marin is among nine state counties moved into a less restrictive tier and among six that went from red to orange. No California county moved backward.

The move is effective Wednesday.

Under the orange tier retail and grocery stores can open at 100 percent capacity, indoor dining, movie theaters, museums and houses of worship at 50 percent capacity, and gyms at 25 percent capacity.

Breweries and wineries serving food can open at 25 percent indoor capacity and bars can open outdoors without serving food.

Despite a precipitous decline in case rates in recent Marin County Health Officer Dr. Matt Willis cautioned the public not to be overly exuberant, noting more work needs to be done to reach the next milestone.

The soonest the county could move into the least restrictive yellow tier would be April 14.

“The next four weeks are pivotal for us,” Willis said in a statement Tuesday.

“We saw an uptick in cases last week and with variant cases increasing, we don’t want to drop the ball before we reach the goal line. Letting your guard down puts us at risk of slipping backward. While pandemic fatigue is real, we must stay the course to help Marin reach tier 4.”

Public Health recommends mask wearing, physical distancing and frequent hand washing when in public.

Anyone traveling outside Bay Area is urged to quarantine upon return.

Free, same-day COVID-19 testing is available across the county, and anyone who comes into frequent contact with members of the public should consider getting tested at least once a month.

See Public Health’s testing webpage for a list of locations.

County officials touted what so far has been a smooth vaccination rollout.

Nearly 48 percent of Marin residents over the age of 16 have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

See Public Health’s vaccination webpage for the latest data.