WILLITS, 6/11/20 — Mendocino County will be moving into “stage 3” of California’s reopening plan, which will allow for a dramatic reopening of a variety of services beginning tomorrow afternoon. Included in the list of services opening up are lodging (with occupancy and cleaning restrictions), campsites, gyms, bars, movie theaters (at 25% occupancy), family entertainment, tasting rooms, public pools, charter boats, massage, and others.
Mendocino Public Health announced early this evening that pursuant to the governor’s new guidance on reopening, and given that Mendocino has completed the “attestation” of preparedness with the state, the health officer has issued a new public health order, which will go into effect tomorrow, Friday, at 3 p.m.
This new order opens up a slew of businesses, many vital to the economy of the region, though with very substantial restrictions remaining in place. And in the announcement Public Health is a pains to emphasize that before these businesses can reopen they must comply with the industry guidelines established by the state. These guidelines are very specific to each industry, and can include things such as strict cleaning protocols for lodging.
In addition the county’s order includes such restrictions as having bars close a 12 a.m., movie theaters limiting occupancy to 25% seating, a requirement that occupants of a hotel room be all of the same family unit, requirement that campgrounds maintain someone on staff 24 hours a day, and so on.
For details particular to your business consult below. It may be some time before some businesses can meet the requirements to open, though other businesses have already been preparing and will open soon.
Here is the press release and below you can find the text of the new order, with differences from the old order marked in red:
Mendocino County Moves into Stage 3 of Reopening
Health Officer Issues New Health Order Aligning with Statewide Guidance
Post Date: 06/11/2020 7:29 PM
On June 5, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom issued guidance for new Pandemic Stage 3 allowable activities starting June 12, 2020, for counties with approved attestations and variance.
In response to these recent State changes, and due to the stable state of the Pandemic in Mendocino County, Health Officer Dr. Noemi Doohan issued a new Shelter-In-Place (SIP) Order today, Thursday, June 11, 2020, and effective June 12, 2020 at 3:00 p.m., allowing Mendocino County to move into Stage 3 of reopening. The following activities and industries may open with strict adherence to state industry guidance including social distancing and Health Orders, such as wearing Facial Coverings in Public:
- Campgrounds and RV parks – daily occupancy capped to 75% of sites (with other restrictions)
- Transient lodging (hotels, motels, vacation rentals) to be occupied by no more than one household including a maximum of 2 adults and their children with daily occupancy of hotels/motels capped to 75% rooms (with other restrictions)
- Tasting rooms (wineries, breweries, distilleries) and Bars (12 midnight closing)
- Gyms and fitness facilities
- Movie theaters (limited to 25% occupancy or 100 persons per showing)
- Family entertainment centers
- Museums, galleries, zoos and aquariums
- Public pools with certain restrictions
The order also clarifies that the State has allowed tanning beds to reopen as part of guidance for Limited Services and that Childcare has updated guidance including Day Camps. The Health Officer has also opened certain therapeutic services (except for those which are purely non-medical), including individual massage therapy, chiropractic and acupuncture care, reiterating that only one appointment may occupy a room at one time, and both provider and patient must wear a facial covering. Charter Boats may also now operate pursuant to the Health Officer’s Order.
The industry specific restrictions and state guidance information can be found in the Health Order. BEFORE businesses can reopen, they must comply with State and County guidelines, and file the Mendocino County self-certification form, developed by the County of Mendocino in collaboration with West Business Development Center, found at https://www.mendocinocountybusiness.org/. Additionally, all Permissible Higher Risk Businesses allowed in this new SIP order must file their Safe Business Reopening Plan for publication on the Mendocino county business website.
Due to the special risks for COVID-19 transmission associated with tourism, transient lodging operations and campgrounds have specific requirements that should be closely reviewed in the Order, including the requirement to post contact information for a responsible on-site (or on-call) manager who will be available in the event of COVID-19 related issues. Transient lodging operators must also have a detailed plan for accommodating guests in the provision of housing, food and basic essentials in the event a guest is determined by a medical professional to require isolation or quarantine for COVID-19. Those lodging operators who previously self-certified for essential travel only, must re-certify complying with the new State and County guidelines for lodging.
Mendocino County’s revised SIP goes in effect tomorrow Friday, June 12 at 3:00 p.m. and will be in place until 3:00 p.m. on July 3, 2020.
The Health Order is posted online at https://www.mendocinocounty.org/community/novel-coronavirus/health-order. The summary of the major changes will be available online on June 12, 2020. The order is enforceable by imprisonment and/or fine thus we urge all residents and businesses to closely read the order and follow it.
More information on Governor Newsom’s resilience roadmap and four-staged plan to reopen California, please visit: https://covid19.ca.gov/roadmap/. For more information on the businesses/sectors that fall within the various stages of re-opening, please view the Resilience Roadmap Business Sector Chart. The Mendocino County approved attestation is available to view on the California Department of Public Health’s Website.
If you cannot see the PDF below, follow this link to view it: https://mendovoice.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/61220HOStage3OrderSIPREDLI-1.pdf
61220HOStage3OrderSIPREDLI-1
That’s great, welcome progress at least. But what stage are protestors, rioters, and looters in? What message does this send? Any spikes in virus numbers will likely be blamed on trump for opening essential businesses!
I shall continue to go where I please and without a face covering. No overpaid sham of a “health” officer, who ignores the science, will tell me otherwise. I’m waiting for the Board of Supervisors to explain what value this woman adds to our community that warrants a huge boost in her pay, especially when so many have lost so much during this ongoing scamdemic.
Double tip your bar tenders and waitress double.
Tasting rooms and bars over outdoor graduations and school, hmmmm. Priorities I assume.
Marilynn B, I concur. 100%
I saw nothing about masks, yet I was harrassed today by a store owner for my medically excused reason for not wearing one.
Just another long list of bull crap set out by the governor and our heath officer. Why are there capacity restriction at camp ground and movie theaters but none on gyms. How does that make any sense. It’s the flu people and all of this has been political and money grubbing ,fear mongering. I can go eat at a restaurant without a mask but I still have to wear a mask in my own business. This whole this is stupid. Talk about I can’t breath. How about the government and the county health officer get off my neck. The powers that be suck.
Right on!!
I love these comments because they speak for many people. Thank you, Marilynn B. and Walter P. Spot on.
You can’t make these people jump through all these hoops and have nationwide chaos going on as well! It’s just wrong from Wrongville!
I saw a newspaper headline, “CASES RISING, IT KEEPS GOING!” or similar and yet it doesn’t say we are testing more so yea, there will be more cases, duh.
There is a current discussion on the Mendocino Chamber of Commerce Facebook page that, supposedly, Dr. Doohan said tourism/tourists are not allowed, that the travel restrictions in Mendocino county are still in effect, 50 miles straight line. People are asking why open hotels and b&bs if no tourists are allowed. Site administrator is awaiting clarification from Dr. Doohan.
Dr. Pam Popper is one of the many who are speaking the truth, but are never heard on mainstream “news.” Here is a sample of what she has to say:
youtube.com/watch?v=caNsmHGViNI
Wow. People are harsh. Every graph is going up not down, hospitalizations are up in SoCal, every medical professional says to take this disease seriously. Dr. Doohan is doing the best she can. Everyone is stressed. A little kindness would go a long way now.