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MENDOCINO Co., 6/21/20 — Mendocino County officially moved into Stage 3 of “opening up” on June 19 with a new shelter-in-place order, but a number of COVID-19 outbreaks have also occurred in the Ukiah recently, bringing the county’s case count to 54 in total, and leading to a significant increase in the number of people currently quarantined due to potential contact with COVID-19 cases.
During the county’s weekly coronavirus press conference on Friday, Interim Public Health Officer Dr. Noemi Doohan urged the public to continue to take precautions as more high risk businesses resume operations and tourism increases. Doohan noted that 10% of people who have tested positive for coronavirus in Mendocino County have required hospitalization, which is higher than the national average, and that some people who have recently tested positive had been participating in social activities that did not conform with the current shelter-in-place recommendations, resulting in a greater number of contacts that are now in quarantine.
The new shelter-in-place order allows for additional high risk businesses, such as personal care services, to resume operation, along with other adjustments, including expanded lodging. However, the new order also includes more restrictive mask requirements to conform with new state guidelines issued on June 18. County supervisors recently issued a fine for a coastal business that did not reply with repeated requests for compliance with the order, and Doohan stated in the press conference that she would release the names of individual businesses in the future if outbreaks occurred in at those businesses due to lack of compliance with the shelter in place order.
Here’s the full press conference from June 19, below, including questions from The Mendocino Voice and social media at the end of the video. Here’s more information about the new shelter-in-place order, and the county’s COVID-19 webpage with additional resources. Free testing remains available in Ukiah (details below), and the county is also conducting additional surveillance testing throughout the county.
COVID TESTING & VACCINE INFO: For more information on COVID-19 vaccines, testing, and masking, contact the Mendocino County Public Health COVID19 Call Center at (707) 472-2759 or visit their website here. You can read our ongoing coverage of the pandemic here, and find the current county COVID-19 data here.
