Sonoma County falls short of moving to state’s yellow reopening tier

Sonoma County has fallen short this week of advancing to the least restrictive stage of the state’s four-part reopening plan, a setback for businesses hoping for more relaxed operating restrictions.

Although there was great optimism last week of a jump to the yellow tier, the county will stay in the orange tier trying to further contain moderate coronavirus circulation in the community.

County public health officials said Tuesday that new virus cases are trending highest among residents in their 20s and 30s, and gatherings and travel are playing a more prominent role in viral transmission. Spread in households continues to be high, too.

Of the 184 new infections in the past 14 days, 27% were attributed to household transmission, 22% were linked to small and large gatherings of friends and family, while 8% were related to mostly travel outside the state. However, in 44% of those recent cases the source of transmission was unknown.

The latest local virus transmission rate — one of three key metrics used by state health officials to decide reopening stages for California’s 58 counties — stood at 2.4 new daily cases per 100,000 people. That’s higher than the 2 new cases per 100,000 needed to qualify for the yellow tier, according to new state data released Tuesday.

The majority of new virus infections are being discovered among local residents who have not been vaccinated, public health officials said.

Almost 53% of local residents age 16 or older have been fully inoculated against the highly contagious pandemic disease. That leaves a big group of locals still needing shots to protect people from contracting the respiratory disease that emerged here in March 2020.

Throughout the state this week, there was not much movement in reopening assignments. In the Bay Area, San Mateo County will advance to the yellow tier on Wednesday, making it and San Francisco the only counties in the region permitted into the coveted stage with few limits on economic activities.

Gov. Gavin Newsom is aiming to scrap the entire county-by-county, color-coded reopening tier regimen and fully reopen the state by June 15, depending on vaccination availability and hospitalizations related to COVID-19.

Though Sonoma County qualified last week for the yellow stage, with an adjusted case rate of 1.9 new daily virus infections per 100,000, the state requires counties to meet that benchmark for two consecutive weeks.

“The earliest we could move into the yellow would be two weeks from today,” Dr. Sundari Mase, the county’s health officer, said Tuesday, during a pandemic response update to the Sonoma County supervisors. “We’re doing pretty well with our metrics but we really are trying to aim to get that case rate to less than two cases per 100,000.”

The county’s latest overall virus test positivity, the share of COVID-19 tests that are positive, is 1.9%, while its test positivity in poor disadvantaged communities is 1.2%. The two testing marks clear the minimums for the yellow tier, but all three benchmarks must be achieved to advance and the local virus transmission level remains too high.

Supervisor David Rabbitt characterized the county’s failure to move forward now to the yellow tier as a “little slide backwards,” noting that virus test positivity metrics continue to improve and those who have been vaccinated are now being spared from infection or serious illness.

“It feels like we’re still trending very, very well,” Rabbit said. “People need to get their shots ... to reach that herd immunity number and to make sure that you’re protected.”

For now, Sonoma County won’t be allowed to broaden reopening and further expand businesses and public activities. The limits under the orange tier remain in effect.

Under the orange tier, bars that don’t serve food can open only outdoors, while wineries, breweries and distilleries where no meals are served can operate indoors at 25% capacity or 100 people, whichever is less. Movie theaters are also limited to 25% capacity.

Museums must remain at 50% indoor capacity, or 75% if all visitors show proof of a negative virus test or full vaccination. Under the yellow tier, museums would have been able to expand to 100% capacity.

Gina Huntsinger, museum director at the popular Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, took the disappointing news in stride.

“We are very grateful that our numbers are down in Sonoma County,” she said, adding that the Schulz Museum in Tokyo is completely closed because of high rates of COVID-19 transmission in Japan.

You can reach Staff Writer Martin Espinoza at 707-521-5213 or martin.espinoza@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @pressreno.