Marin County Anticipates Extension Of Stay-Home Order

Novato CA

10 January, 2021

9:56 AM

Description

Press release from the City of Novato: January 7, 2021 With a regional COVID-19 sheltering order set to expire January 8, Marin County Public Health officials are expecting the State of California to issue an indefinite extension of restrictions intended to slow the spread of the virus that has led to 115 Marin deaths. Due to dwindling intensive care unit (ICU) capacity at hospitals across the region, the state implemented a stay-home order for the Bay Area region, which includes Marin, on December 17 for a minimum of three weeks. The stay-home order will be lifted once the region's ICU capacity forecast meets or exceeds 15%. The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) ICU capacity projections are based on four factors: estimated regional ICU capacity available measure of current community transmission current regional case rates the proportion of cases being admitted to the ICU "As case rates increase, ICU capacity decreases, and the numbers are still moving in the wrong direction," said Dr. Matt Willis, Marin County's Public Health Officer. "The Bay Area is down to 4% ICU capacity, the lowest it's ever been. We feel it's best to inform our communities that the stay-home order likely will remain in place until we reverse the trend across the region. We can all do our part to reopen our community by sticking to the stay-home order and preventing new infections." The Marin County Public Health team is hosting an virtual town hall on January 8 at 2pm to provide an update about the stay-home order and COVID-19 vaccine progress. Dr. Willis and Dr. Tyler Evans will provide a local progress update during the live online session and participants will be allowed to submit questions. Many of the most common vaccine questions are already answered on a "Facts vs. Myths" webpage, a vaccine distribution webpage, and many other pages offered by staff from the Marin County Department of Health and Human Services. Spanish interpretation will be offered at the virtual event. Daily COVID-19 updates from Marin Health and Human Services, including a snapshot of COVID-19 data and an overview of local and state news around health orders, are available at marinHHS.org/coronavirus. Stay Informed Visit the City of Novato COVID-19 webpage at novato.org/coronavirus to sign up for email or text message updates from the City, as well as for information on impacts to City services, City facility closures and cancelled and postponed events, what to do if you are feeling sick, and tips on how to reduce your risk of exposure. Novato businesses and workers impacted by COVID-19, visit novato.org/COVID19biz for a listing of resources including information regarding unemployment, disability and paid family leave benefits; small business loans and grants; tax assistance; non-profit support; as well as information on workplace health and safety. For up-to-date information on what other local agencies are doing in response to COVID-19, please visit the following websites: Novato Unified School District: nusd.org/covid North Marin Water District: nmwd.com Novato Sanitary District: novatosan.com Marin Transit: marintransit.org Golden Gate Transit: goldengate.org/district/news-media SMART: sonomamarintrain.org This press release was produced by the City of Novato. The views expressed here are the author's own.