World News – US – « It’s Another Blow »: Bay Area, including Sonoma County, faces tighter pandemic restrictions

Track coronavirus cases in Sonoma County, California, the United States, and around the world.

Major new restrictions to be rolled out in California in the coming weeks to tackle a major coronavirus resurgence are expected to aggravate consumers and business owners already grappling with pandemic fears and boundaries Will take a toll.

Sonoma County and its Bay Area neighbors are in a more convenient location than most of the state because hospital admissions for virus patients in the area are still manageable.

However, each of the five regions of California is expected to reach a critical limit for available hospital beds in the intensive care unit by the end of December, creating new housing demands. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday that commercial activities, leisure and worship, and social gatherings go way beyond what is now allowed.

The result will be disruptive conditions slightly more liberal than those seen in the post-pandemic March and April when the county and state health officials first passed emergency orders covering all but essential activities like grocery stores Shopping and trips to the pharmacy were suspended.

Once the stricter restrictions and closings are in place in a particular region, they will remain in place for three weeks. Some of the hardest hit include: restaurants that focus on takeaway and delivery; Hairdressing and nail salons that are closed; Shops that can only be operated with 20% of customer capacity; Churches restricted for outdoor services; and hotels that can only be booked by overnight guests who are “indispensable” business travelers.

The sweeping rules will deal a severe blow to personal service providers and business owners who have already made significant and costly adjustments to accommodate existing pandemic restrictions. Some invest heavily only to find that they will now likely need to close or further restrict operations.

Certain restaurateurs, retailers and service providers barely stay afloat and may find that they cannot recover afterwards, said Peter Rumble, general manager of the Santa Rosa Metro Chamber.

« I think there is tremendous fear right now, especially in retail, » said Rumble. “The members of the retail sector, who basically shape their year around vacation spending, are deeply concerned about what major constraints can mean. ”

State regulation requires the stricter regulations to go into effect 24 hours after ICU bed capacity drops below 15% in any of California’s five designated regions. Regions with a higher availability of ICU beds are not subject to closings and new limits.

Newsom urged residents to consider that what is coming is « not a permanent step » but a bridge through the most difficult period of the pandemic, which began in March.

The new state order is in response to skyrocketing COVID-19 cases, rising hospital stays, and rising deaths in California and the rest of the nation. It is designed to limit social mixing, and especially indoor activities that involve eating, drinking and prolonged socializing.

The ultimate goal is to keep hospitals from becoming overwhelmed. That is why the capacity of the intensive care unit for seriously ill people affected by the virus has been set as a key factor.

Barney Aldridge, owner of the Barlow marketplace for trendy shops and grocery and beverage outlets in Sebastopol, still described the additional restrictions as « a terrible excess of authority ». ”

The 12-acre, trendy shopping mecca has nine restaurants that have relocated to meet the needs of socially distant outdoor service, with only takeaway and delivery options.

« It’s been an incredible burden on all restaurants and people in the service industry on so many levels, » Aldridge said, « and it’s had a tremendous impact on morale and wellbeing, with the overall effect of placing hundreds of thousands of people under siege. « . ”

In contrast, Barbara Gonnella, owner of the old Union Hotel restaurant in Occidental, said she was saddened at the prospect of turning seated guests away – especially given a beautiful new wooden pergola that was just installed outside the store last week.

« But most importantly, everyone’s health is at stake, and our little take-away counter will just be copiously stocked with biscuits and soups and pasta and pizza, » she said.

In Sonoma County, due to rising coronavirus hospitalizations and other critical patient care needs, 79 out of 82 ICU beds were occupied Thursday, meaning local hospitals capacity was less than 4%. County Health Officer Dr.. . According to Sundari Mase, local hospital managers already have plans to bring in additional staff if this is necessary to increase capacity.

Track coronavirus cases in Sonoma County, across California, the United States, and around the world here.

The Bay Area, which Sonoma is a part of, had more than 25% of the hospital’s intensive care unit capacity as of Thursday and shouldn’t hit the 15% trigger point until mid to late December in the California Department of Public Health. In addition to Sonoma, the region includes the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Monterey, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and Solano.

The other four regions with fewer available intensive care beds – Northern California (Jan.. 6%), Greater Sacramento (22%), San Joaquin Valley (19). 7%) and Southern California (20th. 6%) – are likely to face more severe restrictions in the next few days or weeks as COVID-19 patients worsen.

If the new trigger hits, local wineries will expect to return to the status they operated in last spring, when production and farming were allowed but on-site wine tasting was banned, said Tim Schmelzer, Vice President at Wine Institute, the premier trade group for California wineries.

« You can pick up and people can order online with delivery, but there’s no more wine tasting, » Schmelzer said.

The closure would come as the Sonoma County’s wine sector continues to struggle with a decline in tourism and fewer visitors are expected this holiday season due to the ban on indoor food and drink service and the colder weather. The effect will be more severe for smaller wineries that rely on direct sales to consumers as opposed to larger farms like Jackson Family Wines and E.. & J. . Gallo Winery who have tremendous revenue from retail sales.

In a notable example, Jordan Vineyard & in Healdsburg decided last month to stop tasting until at least January.

« It’s another blow to our industry as we rely on tourism, » said Rene Byck, owner of Paradise Ridge Winery in Santa Rosa. “We rely on people to visit us to buy wine. ”

At Jackson Family Wines in Santa Rosa, which has more than a dozen tasting rooms in Sonoma and Napa counties, including the Kendall-Jackson Wine Estate and Gardens, CEO Rick Tigner said in a statement that his company is the new state Policy monitors.

« Our goal is to keep the COVID-19 numbers in our region low so that we don’t have to close our tasting rooms, » said Tigner. “This is disappointing, of course, as those of us in the industry, including restaurants, have taken significant steps to winterize our outdoor areas and keep them safe for employees and guests. Even so, we will do our part to ensure that everyone stays safe during the vacation. ”

Tom Bugbee, CourseCo’s chief operating officer, who manages the two golf courses in Oakmont Village, near Santa Rosa, believes golf will be allowed even after the stricter public health regulations.

CourseCo operates other Los Angeles County golf clubs that have had stricter health regulations earlier this week, and golf courses have stayed open as the nature of the sport keeps players a lot of distance, Bugbee said.

« That is our interpretation today. As you know, « he said, » these things can change from one day to the next. ”

Natalie Cilurzo, co-owner of Russian River Brewing Co. . was pleased to learn that an outdoor restaurant shutdown is not necessarily imminent and that it may take weeks for the Bay Area to fall below the 15% ICU bed availability threshold.

« We’ll take it. It’s a win, « said Cilurzo, noting that this is a terrible time, » in the middle of the holiday season. I hate having to take more employees off. ”

Ina Rodrigues, owner of Fox and the Hair Salon on Kentucky Street in Petaluma, spent Thursday afternoons calming down employees.

« If it has to happen to keep people safe, we should, » Rodrigues said of the broader restrictions. “On the other hand, the federal government has let us down. I know a lot of people want to blame Gavin Newsom. ”

Writers Bill Swindell and Austin Murphy contributed to this story. You can reach Mary Callahan at 707-521-5249 or Mary. callahan @ pressdemocrat. com. On Twitter @MaryCallahanB.

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San Francisco Bay Area, KRON-TV, Coronavirus, KCBS AM, Intensive Care Unit