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City Manager Alan Flora, acting as the director of emergency services for the city of Clearlake, announced the lifting of certain restrictions to permit fishing along open park shorelines and hiking and jogging within open parks in the city.
The rule changes will be effective at 8 a.m. Friday, April 24, at Redbud Park, Highlands Park and Austin Beach, Flora reported.
City parks have been closed since late March as part of the effort to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Clearlake’s announcement follows revisions to the Lake County Health Officer’s shelter in place order, released on Thursday afternoon.
“We are happy to see the Lake County Public Health officer announce the relaxation of some restrictions of public activities,” said Flora. “Social distancing, frequent hand washing and wearing a mask in public are still recommended. We hope that the community enjoys this opportunity to spend some time outside while remaining diligent against the spread of COVID-19.”
The order does not apply to the Austin Park playground, basketball courts and skatepark, or the areas of Austin Park that are still currently under construction or Thompson Harbor, as access to Clear Lake by boat has not been authorized by the Public Health officer. Flora said those areas remain closed to the public.
No person shall enter any closed park or park area. No person shall remain in a closed park or closed area of a park after having been notified of the closure and having been requested to leave by any peace officer or other person so designated by the city manager or chief of police, Flora said.
042320 City of Clearlake re... by LakeCoNews on Scribd
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Mendocino County Public Health reported that three Round Valley residents within the same household tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday.
The new cases bring the total number of positive cases in Mendocino County to eight. Of the eight cases, four have recovered.
The testing of the three new cases was performed at Round Valley Indian Health Center and the health care workers used proper personal protective equipment, officials said.
Following protocol, the Round Valley Indian Health Center reported the positive cases to Mendocino County Public Health.
Public Health has initiated a contact tracing investigation and is working with Round Valley Indian Health Center on additional testing of individuals potentially exposed to the individuals that have tested positive.
All three individuals are in stable condition, in isolation at home with active public health monitoring and did not require hospitalization. Officials said asymptomatic close contacts of the cases are in quarantine.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to collaboratively work with the Round Valley Indian Tribes and the Round Valley Indian Health Center and applaud the clinic staff for the exemplary manner in which these cases were cared for,” said Mendocino County Health Officer Dr. Noemi Doohan.
Doohan thanked Congressman Jared Huffman, Sen. Mike McGuire, Assemblyman Jim Wood and California Department of Public Health Director Dr. Sonia Angell for their rapid response and assistance in mobilizing additional resources.
“I deeply care about our tribal communities and we are here to respond and provide support to contain the spread of COVID-19,” Doohan said.
If you are a resident of Round Valley and have concerns about exposure or have COVID-19 symptoms such as cough, fever or flu-like symptoms please contact the Round Valley Indian Health Center Triage Nurse at 707-983-6181, Extension 142. Please call the clinic prior to arriving.
The Mendocino County Health Officer, Round Valley Indian Health Center and Round Valley Indian Tribal Council urge residents to follow the health officer’s shelter in place order and stay home unless essential travel is required for groceries, medicine or other necessary items.
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The story has been updated to show that the new addendum has a June 1 expiration date.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A month after the Lake County Public Health officer instituted a countywide shelter in place order to protect against the spread of COVID-19, he has issued revisions that allow some businesses to reopen and loosened restrictions on recreation and nonmotorized use of the lake.
The shelter in place order has a May 3 deadline, but the Thursday addendum said it is in place until June 1, and the language does not make clear if it cancels out the previous order.
Pace’s statement was released by the county at 1:35 p.m. Thursday, 25 minutes before the loosened restrictions became effective.
“Since the anticipated surge in coronavirus cases has not materialized, we are taking the first steps toward loosening up some of the restrictions that limit social mobility and business activity in Lake County. The Governor’s Orders have the ultimate authority, however; local Public Health Orders can be more restrictive, but not less,” Pace wrote.
As of Tuesday, Lake County’s confirmed COVID-19 cases remain at six, with five of them recovered.
Pace said that if infection numbers begin to rise, the county will be prepared to tighten restrictions back down in order to prevent big case surges.
His changes to the order followed a spirited discussion at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting in which board members debated easing the rules while trying to protect the public, as Lake County News has reported.
Pace’s Thursday addendum to his shelter in place order “is not intended to further restrict the ability of families living within the same household to engage in essential activities. The intent is to enable additional opportunities for individuals and business to resume relatively low risk activities, while observing social distancing, and gathering in groups no larger than two,” he said.
He also noted that the economy is a primary concern now, due to the terrible impact the county’s public health measures have had on business.
“Once the governor makes some changes in the order, we can begin to loosen some restrictions. These will happen on a step by step basis, with a lot of planning. A few groups are already working on plans to begin to relax the restrictions in a safe and equitable way,” Pace said.
The order allows for the following activities.
Recreational activities that will be allowed include:
– Limited opening of golf courses.
– Hiking and jogging at parks that are open.
– Canoeing, kayaking and other paddle-propelled, hand-launched watercraft are allowed in the lake, excluding sailboats.
– Highland Springs shooting ranges can open.
– Other solitary recreational activities that do not involve physical contact or group activity (like shooting baskets, Frisbee golf, archery) will be allowed.
– Fishing from the shore.
Certain businesses will be allowed to reopen:
– Pet grooming.
– Real estate transactions can be pursued. They should be done as much as possible virtually but can be done in person when necessary.
While there has been public interest, hair salons and cosmetology are still not permitted to operate under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s order, Pace said.
While the county can be more restrictive than the governor’s order, it cannot be less restrictive, officials reported.
Pace said this loosening of restrictions “will hopefully allow the community to get some relief from staying inside all the time.”
“However,” he added, “significant health risks associated with COVID-19 do remain.”
As restrictions begin to loosen, Pace said it is essential that people follow guidelines that include maintaining social distancing, keeping good hygiene and preferably wearing masks when out in public.
The county has still not made masking mandatory, as is the case in neighboring Sonoma County and in certain situations in Mendocino County.
Mandatory masking was a point of discussion for board members on Tuesday, at which point Pace said masking may be necessary as more businesses are reopened.
On Thursday he said vulnerable populations – including those over age 65 and those with chronic medical conditions – should continue to stay safe at home.
In addition, Pace discouraged people from crossing county lines. He said that is an important way that the virus spreads. To date, Lake County’s confirmed cases have had out-of-county origins, based on Pace’s previous reports.
The shelter in place addendum is published below.
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Talk of easing restrictions in Dr. Gary Pace’s shelter in place order – which went into effect on March 19 with additional restrictions that closed local waterways, hotels and vacation rentals several days later – took place at Tuesday’s board meeting.
The shelter in place order remains in effect until May 3.
The number of Lake County COVID-19 cases has held at six since last week. Five of the cases are recovered, according to Lake County Public Health.
Pace told the board on Tuesday that COVID-19 cases appear to be dropping off statewide and regionally and the state is working to increase testing supplies and laboratory capability.
As such, attention is now turning to loosening restrictions. Pace said the end game is, how can restrictions be eased and the community be allowed to get back to a semblance of normal.
He said large gatherings probably will not be happening any time in the near future, and possibly not until there is a vaccine available.
If the restrictions are pulled back too soon, Pace said there could be a surge in cases again. The idea is to be methodical and loosen restrictions in a way that allows activity while protecting vulnerable people.
He suggested taking an approach of loosening restrictions, waiting a few weeks and then loosening some more. If things get bad and cases increase, that may lead to another clamp down.
Pace added that vulnerable people will need to be on lockdown indefinitely, adding that society has been shut down to protect that group of people.
He said wearing masks and continuing to observe social distancing will continue to help the situation going forward.
Another action Pace suggested is trying to limit people coming from out of town, acknowledging, “So much of the economy is based on that.” However, if the lake is opened up, Pace said visitors are likely to bring in infections.
With the order set to expire on May 3, Pace said he plans to have updated regulations in place by then. By that point, Gov. Gavin Newsom also has indicated he will have new rules in effect.
Pace indicated a desire to loosen some recreational restrictions by Friday. Possible changes could include hiking with social distancing, fishing on the side of the lake, and use of nonmotorized boats like kayaks and canoes. Then, Pace said he will watch what the governor does as he considers more changes.
Supervisor Rob Brown wanted to move forward with easing restrictions on Tuesday rather than waiting for Friday. Pace said he needed time to coordinate with the different agencies involved in enforcing the shelter in place order.
Still to be decided are measures to begin easing restrictions on businesses.
Referring to rules Sonoma County has for mandatory masking, Pace said the county may need to do that when opening up more businesses. However, he said he’s reluctant to take that step, and during the discussion Supervisor Bruno Sabatier opposed a masking requirement, questioning how such a rule would be enforced.
Brown said he still hadn’t heard any logical or factual reasons why the county couldn’t open up on Tuesday. “I think we’ve gotten too restrictive for too long without justification. It’s not working out.”
He said no one was laying out any facts, just a hypothesis.
That kicked off a brief verbal sparring exchange between Brown and Board Chair Moke Simon, who said it wasn’t a hypothesis, with more than 40,000 deaths in the United States by that point.
Brown replied that it was a hypothesis and Simon said it’s a very deadly pandemic, to which Brown said that wasn’t a fact, and that more people die from doctors’ mistakes than COVID-19.
Simon said he disagreed, as do most health officials.
“I’m nervous about what the state is going to do and I think we need to take back some control,” Sabatier said.
Sheriff Brian Martin told the board, “I’m in favor of getting things back to normal as quickly as possible,” but added that he realized there is a balance to keeping safe.
Martin said he wanted a few days to talk about how the changes would be worked out.
He said he felt very strongly that the steps the county took early on helped. The sheriff added that he liked the idea of reopening recreational opportunities and letting some businesses also reopen.
The board took no formal action on the matter, which was discussed during Pace’s weekly update.
In a video posted on Facebook on Wednesday, Sheriff Martin indicated work was underway on changes to the order and some easing of restrictions are anticipated in the coming days, but he added that he could not get into specifics.
There’s both a desire to lift restrictions and to keep the community safe, Martin said.
He encouraged people with suggestions about the restrictions to write Public Health at
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