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Public Health officer reports on new state restrictions due to rising COVID-19 activity
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – With COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continuing to rise in the region and throughout California, on Monday Gov. Gavin Newsom announced an immediate statewide reclosure of indoor operations in certain business sectors.
The sectors impacted are restaurants, wineries and tasting rooms, movie theaters, family entertainment centers, zoos and museums, and cardrooms.
These new restrictions apply to Lake County, and more information is available here.
Lake County Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace explained that California businesses in the industries singled out by the governor are allowed to continue to operate to the extent they are able to provide services outdoors and/or offer to-go orders, curbside pickup and delivery.
Bars, brewpubs, breweries and pubs were ordered to immediately close all operations – both indoor and outdoor – statewide, unless they are offering sit-down, outdoor dine-in meals. Alcohol can only be sold in the same transaction as a meal.
In other words, indoor sit-down meals and/or beverage service and on-site seating for alcoholic beverage service, only, even if outdoors, are prohibited.
Breweries with restaurant operations, for example, are able to continue offering outdoor dining, takeout, and curbside pickup. Shipping and delivery-based operations may continue, as well.
The order was also not intended to prohibit breweries from brewing beer, which is considered an essential food manufacturing activity.
More information on the new statewide restrictions added by Gov. Newsom is available here.
Pace said that, in light of the governor’s order, effective immediately, the three Lake County-owned museums will be closed to the public: Historic Courthouse Museum in Lakeport, the Lower Lake Schoolhouse Museum and the Gibson Museum and Cultural Center in Middletown.
The new restrictions announced on Monday, Pace said, signal that the state government is taking a statewide and regional approach to pandemic response in consideration of the movement of people and patients across county lines.
Based on new guidance issued jointly by State Health Officer Dr. Sonia Angell and Gov. Newsom, “Guidance on Closure of Sectors in Response to COVID-19,” Pace said indoor activities are among the first to be limited because recent evidence indicates “closed environments” enable “secondary transmission” of COVID-19.
For the 30 counties on the state’s “watch list,” restrictions were added to further business sectors and activities.
Lake County is not currently on the list, but Pace said the neighboring counties of Colusa, Glenn, Napa, Sonoma and Yolo are listed.
In his Monday message, Gov. Newsom referred to Lake County in a discussion that included the possibility of adding additional counties to the watch list in the coming days. At that point, Lake County’s confirmed cases stood at 121, with 30 active, 90 recovered and one death reported.
“We do not anticipate Lake County will be added at this time, but we must remain vigilant in taking precautions, as regional COVID-19 activity is considerable,” said Pace.