No pandemic relief for Sonoma County as state watchlist rules to remain in effect

Sonoma County will remain on the state’s COVID-19 watch list, where it has been for three weeks, after failing to reduce the spread of the virus in that time, local health officials said Monday.

Health Officer Dr. Sundari Mase said the county continues to experience high rates of virus transmission that are well above the benchmarks set by the state for relaxing coronavirus restrictions.

Sonoma County has seen 188 new cases per 100,000 residents during the past 14 days, a rate that is approaching twice a key benchmark for getting off the state’s coronavirus monitoring list. The county has just under half a million residents and over the weekend it topped 3,000 cases, with 39 deaths, a third of them since July 23.

“Over the last two weeks we have reached 944 new cases, which tells us this disease transmission is too high, well over the standard for containment,” she said. “We need to bring that below 100 per 100,000 people living in the county in order to meet the state's benchmark for more relaxed measures.”

The state established its coronavirus watchlist back in June as a mechanism to track counties’ progress, or lack thereof, containing the virus. Those that continue to fall short of any one of six benchmarks are eventually put on the list and ordered to impose restrictions for at least three weeks, even if their numbers improve during that time.

Sonoma County’s COVID-19 stats have not improved, and in several cases have worsened since it was added to the list July 10, with restrictions imposed July 13 that shut down a range of indoor business, including at restaurants, gyms and museums.

The most worrisome trend is the continued toll the virus is taking on elderly people living in skilled nursing or residential care facilities. They account for 32 of the 39 COVID-19 deaths in the county. The latest two were added Sunday, a man and woman who were both over 65, with underlying health conditions. Both were nursing home residents.

This week, a “strike team“ from the California Department of Public Health is expected to visit Sonoma County senior care facilities that that have been impacted the most during the pandemic, including three in Sonoma and Petaluma that account for more than half of the deaths and hundreds of cases.

Mase said about half a dozen facilities have enough COVID-19 cases to warrant a visit. Sonoma County has 20 skilled nursing facilities and 177 residential care homes, which are nonmedical institutions that include assisted living, board and care homes and memory care centers. Both groups are licensed and regulated by the state.

“I also think it's important for them to visit all of the facilities, and look at prevention, in addition to intervening in those facilities that already have cases,” she said.

Mase said the state teams have the ability to transfer patients to other sites, or even to create a state-run alternate care site if they determined that that’s necessary. The local health department continues to look for a site to serve senior care home patients but so far has come up short.

On Monday, officials said they still have not identified a site.

Back in mid-July, Sonoma was one of 30 counties when it was added to the state watch list. Now the list includes 38 jurisdictions that are home to more than 38 million people — more than 97% of California’s roughly 40 million residents, according to The Sacramento Bee.

The state-imposed restrictions also prohibit indoor activity at wineries, tasting rooms, bars, clubs, breweries and brewpubs, as well as movie theaters, card rooms, family entertainment centers and zoos.

Limited outdoor and take-out services are permitted at restaurants, while wineries and tasting rooms can serve outdoors without having to serve food. Bars, clubs, breweries, brewpubs and distilleries can serve alcohol outdoors, but only with a meal.

Mase said the county is out of step on two of the six benchmarks ‒ the all-important cases per 100,000 residents and availability of intensive care beds.

It is meeting others, including the state’s requirement for COVID-19 testing and a reduction in the rate of coronavirus patients in the hospital.

But she reiterated that stopping the spread of the virus takes stronger adherence to pandemic safeguards ‒ wearing facial coverings when outside the home, maintaining physical distance of at least six feet and frequently washing hands while following other good hygiene measures.

Mase said public health investigators over the past three weeks have found some cases where the virus was spread through indoor activities in restaurants and retail business, as well as personal care services, such as hair and nail salons. But she said more time is needed to analyze the data.

“It takes time to reflect any change that we make,” she said. “It’s been about three weeks, we may not see a big change right away.”

Mase once again pointed out that a high percentage of the county’s cases are coming from large and small social gatherings, where large gatherings are more than 12.

“Social gatherings, have been shown already in our data to be leading to more and more cases of COVID-19, whether it's a gathering with your extended family or friends,” she said. “If people are not adhering to health orders (asking people) not to gatherin large groups, then I think we’re going to see more cases.”

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