Marin business reopening delayed pending state review

Sep. 8--Marin County health officials slammed the brakes on reopening some indoor businesses Tuesday after state health officials said additional review of the county's coronavirus status is needed.

Marin health officials had announced last week that the county was cleared to move to red Tier 2 status -- or "substantial" -- on Tuesday, allowing some businesses to open indoors amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The California Department of Public Health told Marin officials late Monday that the county will remain in the purple Tier 1 status -- or "widespread" -- under the state's risk classification system after data had been reanalyzed. State public health officials are now applying a new method to determine a county's position on the four-tiered monitoring system. That means the reopening of some Marin businesses has been put on hold.

Affected activities and businesses include indoor personal care services, indoor dining, indoor gyms, movie theaters, indoor houses of worship and expanded capacity at indoor retail establishments and malls.

The final determination of Marin's status is expected to be announced by the end of the week.

"We want to move carefully and base our decisions on local data." Dr. Matt Willis, the County's Health Officer said in a statement. "We're well prepared to move forward, but ultimately this is the state's decision. In the new framework the state has a lot more control about what moves and what doesn't."

State health officials are expected to introduce its new method this week. Included changes will be using a new time frame for calculating a county's case rate as well a new adjustment for counties testing more than the state average.

Willis said a small county like Marin on the edge of one tier and another is more vulnerable to slight changes in the case measurement process and small outbreaks.

"One cluster of cases in a facility leads to a clear spike in countywide case rates -- these are some of the factors we'll be discussing with the state," he said.

"This decision is a gut check for residents and businesses," Angela Nicholson, assistant county administrator and director of Marin'sEmergency Operations Center said in a statement. "We've been working together to flatten our curve. Every day we see the negative effect on the emotional and economic well-being of our neighbors and community."

This story will be updated.

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