Bay Area Health Officers Move to Implement State’s New Regional Stay Home Order, Not Waiting Until Local Hospitals Are Near Crisis to Act
The following is a joint statement from the counties of Marin, Contra Costa, Alameda, San Francisco, and Santa Clara, plus the City of Berkeley.
Yesterday, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that all sectors other than retail and essential operations would be closed in regions of California where less than 15% of ICU beds are available under a new Regional Stay-Home Order. Although health officials throughout the Bay Area are glad to see the State take action in light of the rapidly escalating surge in hospitalizations statewide, many believe even more aggressive action is necessary in the Bay Area to slow the surge and prevent our local hospitals from being overwhelmed.
Rather than waiting until intensive care unit (ICU) bed availability reaches critical levels and delaying closures that are inevitable, the health officers for the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, and Santa Clara as well as the City of Berkeley jointly announced that they will implement the State’s Regional Stay-Home Order right away.
“It takes several weeks for new restrictions to slow rising hospitalizations and waiting until only 15% of a region’s ICU beds are available is just too late,” said San Francisco Health Officer Dr. Tomás Aragon. “Many heavily impacted parts of our region already have less than 15% of ICU beds available, and the time to act is now.”
“Each of us can fight the spread,” said Dr. Lisa B. Hernandez, the City of Berkeley Health Officer. “Keep your family safe by avoiding even small gatherings outside of your household and not traveling. We don’t want holiday gatherings and travel to create a spike of cases on top of the surge we’re already seeing.”
“Although Marin has fared better than some other counties in our region over the last few weeks, we know it is only a matter of time before rising case and hospitalization put pressure on our hospitals too,” said Marin County Health Officer Dr. Matthew Willis. “We must act now, and we must act together to ensure all hospitals in the Bay Area have the capacity they need to care for our residents.”
Consistent with the State framework, the six jurisdictions are working to ensure that all sectors have at least 48-hour notice of these closures. Most of the Bay Area Health Officers will implement the State’s Regional Stay-Home Order as of Sunday, December 6. In Alameda County, it is scheduled to take effect on Monday, December 7, and Marin County’s order will take effect at noon Tuesday, December 8. The new restrictions will remain in place until January 4, 2021.
The order instructs Bay Area residents to stay at home as much as possible and limit mixing with other households, which can lead to the spread of COVID-19. All sectors other than retail and essential operations must be closed. Access to (and travel for) critical services and outdoor activities to preserve physical and mental health are allowed.
Beginning at noon Tuesday, December 8, the following sectors in Marin County must close:
- Indoor and outdoor playgrounds
- Indoor recreational facilities
- Hair salons and barbershops
- Personal care services
- Museums, zoos, and aquariums
- Movie theaters
- Wineries
- Bars, breweries, and distilleries
- Family entertainment centers
- Cardrooms and satellite wagering
- Limited services
- Live audience sports
- Amusement parks
The following sectors will have additional modifications (in addition to 100% masking and physical distancing):
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Outdoor recreational facilities:Allow outdoor operation only, without any food, drink, or alcohol sales. Additionally, overnight stays at campgrounds will not be permitted.
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Retail: Allow indoor operation at 20% capacity with entrance metering and no eating or drinking in the stores. Additionally, special hours should be instituted for seniors and others with chronic conditions or compromised immune systems.
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Shopping centers: Allow indoor operation at 20% capacity with entrance metering and no eating or drinking in the stores. Additionally, special hours should be instituted for seniors and others with chronic conditions or compromised immune systems.
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Hotels, motels, short-term rentals, other lodging:Allow to open for critical infrastructure support only.
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Restaurants: Allow only for takeout, pick-up, or delivery.
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Offices: Allow remote use only, except for critical infrastructure sectors where remote working is not possible.
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Gyms: Indoor operations must close.
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Places of worship and political expression: Allow outdoor services only.
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Entertainment production including professional sports: Allow operation without live audiences. Additionally, testing protocol and “bubbles” are highly encouraged.
The following sectors are allowed to remain open when a remote option is not possible. Those that remain open must have appropriate infectious disease preventative measures in place, including 100% masking and physical distancing:
- Critical infrastructure
- Schools
- Non-urgent medical and dental care
- Child care and pre-kindergarten
“We recognize that public health is about community well-being and that includes the economic health of the community,” Willis said. “And as we take this step, we want to remind people to find ways to support their local businesses in a safe way, doing it from home as much as possible, but utilizing the online or curb-side pick-up options that our local stores may offer.”
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Marin Public Health Update for the Week of December 1, 2020
Marin’s Public Health Officer, Dr. Matt Willis, provides an update on Marin County’s status within the State’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy. In addition to highlighting some of the successes that have helped Marin County maintain a lower case rate than much of the state, he also warns that cases continue to increase in Marin and it's too early to relax.
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2020 ELECTION SPOTLIGHT
The Town Council Declared the Election Results and Selected a New Mayor and Vice Mayor at their Dec. 2nd Meeting
The Town Council bid a fond farewell to John Reed, and welcomed newly-elected Councilmember Chance Cutrano. Incumbents Barbara Coler and Bruce Ackerman were elected to a third and second term, respectively. All three Councilmembers took the Oath of Office and began their new terms.
The Council thanked Mayor Goddard for her year of leadership, and then selected Vice Mayor Bruce Ackerman to serve as Mayor for the next 12 months, and Councilmember Stephanie Hellman to serve as Vice Mayor. The Council rotates the positions of Mayor and Vice Mayor every year in December.
2020 Fairfax Town Council Members
Bruce Ackerman Mayor/Council Member
Stephanie Hellman Vice Mayor/Council Member
Barbara Coler Council Member
Chance Cutrano Council Member
Renee Goddard Council Member
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Reminder to Get a Tree Permit
Please remember that a Tree Permit is required for the removal OR significant trimming of any tree, pursuant to Town Code Chapter 8.36 ‘Trees.’
If you have any questions, please call Susan Waters at (415) 453-1584 or via email at swaters@townoffairfax.org.
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Creek Maintenance
The rains are here and the Town would like to remind property owners whose property is adjacent to the creek the importance of keeping the creek clear and ready for the rainy season. It is the property owners' responsibility to keep the creek free of vegetation, debris, trash, or any other obstruction to winter flows that could possibly cause erosion or flooding.
A creek maintenance fact sheet is available on our website. It has useful information regarding creek maintenance, ownership, permits and other resources that can be useful if you are considering doing work in the creek.
Please contact the Department of Public Works at 415-453-1584 or mlockaby@townoffairfax.org if you have any questions or concerns.
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Outdoor Seating Area in the Mono Parking Lot
Due to the new County Health Order, effective December 8th, the lower portion of the Mono Parking lot will no longer be closed for outdoor public seating. We will revisit the closure of the lot for public uses when the County Health Order is modified.
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Music Pods with Dani Levy
New Classes Added -- Sign Up Now!
Class is held behind the Pavilion with spaced out hay bales and under lovely trees and nature during nice weather. Due to County's new health order we will only be able to offer this program while the weather is clear. Contact Anne Mannes with questions about the plan moving forward.
Ages 0-6 years
Pod I
Tuesdays, November 17 – December 22, 2020 -- $90 for 6 week session
10:30am – 11:15am
Pod II
Tuesdays, December 1 – December 22. 2020 -- $60 for 4 week session
11:30am – 12:15pm
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Effective Tuesday, December 8th, indoor classes in the Pavilion are canceled due to the County’s new health order, which is effective thru January 4th. Please check with your instructor or the Town website in January for more information on when classes will resume.
Flying Dutchman Gymnastics
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In Person Yoga at the Pavilion
with Veronica Geretz, M.A., E-RYT500
Mondays from 5:30-6:30pm
We have moved into the Pavilion during rainy season
Maximum of 15 participants
FREE
We may move this program outdoors again after December 8th - check the website for updates and we'll include updates here next week.
Join your community in our spacious Pavilion for a socially-distanced yoga class. We are moving this class indoors during the rainy season and on nice days when possible it will happen outside on Contratti Field. The class will be geared toward yoga students with a Beginner to Intermediate yoga practice. Please bring your own yoga mat, two yoga blocks and a yoga strap. If you do not have any of those props and are unable to procure them for any reason, please reach out to Veronica at geretzvj@gmail.com and she will work with you to find what you need at no cost.
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Upcoming Meetings & Events |
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December 6th - Time TBD
Open Space Committee Special Meeting
December 8th - 7pm
Fairfax Volunteers Holiday Wreath Making (online)
December 13th - 2pm
Parks & Recreation Committee Meeting
December 14th - 7pm
Climate Action Committee Meeting
December 15th - 7pm
Town Council Special Meeting
December 16th - 6:30pm
Planning Commission Meeting
December 17th - 7pm
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Fairfax Food Pantry
Saturday mornings from 8-10am
Fairfax Community Church
2398 Sir Francis Drake Blvd, Fairfax.
The Fairfax Food Pantry continues to be open. Drive through or walk up service is available. In addition to our regular bagged groceries, folks will be receiving 15lb produce boxes as part of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP).
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The Wonderfully Wild Marin Pop Ups
Saturday December 5th & 12th, from 1-6
Outdoor dining area of Mas Masa
31 Bolinas Road, Fairfax
Even more treasures than last week on display - There will be gorgeous photos for sale by the artists of WonderfullyWildMarin.Com (WWM) fundraise and the WWM 2021 calendars,
Donated music by Teja Gerkin
Artists in Residence, Stephanie Mohan's "Faces of Fairfax" book, kinetic sculpture by Susan Pascal Beran, and more!
The exhibit is fully ventilated out of doors mask and social distancing protocols will be followed.
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Town of Fairfax COVID-19 Resources
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Town of Fairfax sitio web se puede traducir al español
El sitio web se puede traducir al español usando el ícono del globo que se encuentra en la barra verde de cada página.
Our website can now be translated into Spanish (and other languages) using the globe icon found on the green bar at the top of each page.
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Email for Reporting Shelter-in-Place (SIP) Violations
The Town has created an on-line process for reporting SIP violations by businesses.
In the email, we ask that you include the business name, address, and as much detail as possible regarding the perceived health order violation. Town staff will follow-up with the businesses regarding the violations. Our goal is to gain compliance by informing and educating businesses of the need to follow shelter-in-place (SIP) orders. All businesses will be given a grace period to comply before additional follow-up actions are taken by staff.
The updated status of businesses and industries reopenings in Marin County can be found at MarinRecovers.com.
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Next week's newsletter will be a special Holiday Edition featuring ways to shop local and celebrate the holidays close to home. |
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