Mendocino County Will Be Allowing Dine-in Restaurants

Press release from the County of Mendocino:

On May 19, 2020, Mendocino County promptly submitted a COVID-19 County Variance Attestation to the California Department of Public Health in order to safely move further into Stage 2 of reopening. Mendocino County is pleased to announce, that on  May 20, 2020, the State of California posted Mendocino County’s self-attestation on the California Department of Public Health website thereby allowing additional Mendocino County businesses and services to open with adaptations and implementation of industry guidelines, including retail stores for in person shopping and dine-in restaurants.

The State’s Roadmap to Recovery does not allow the opening of salons, lodging for tourism (either for in-county or out-of-county residents), bars, winery tasting rooms, public pools or entertainment venues at this time. These businesses are currently listed by the State of California as eligible for reopening when California, statewide, moves into Stage 3 or 4 of the gradual reopening process. Public events and gatherings of any size also remain prohibited at this time.

BEFORE businesses can reopen, they must comply with State and County guidelines, and file the Mendocino County self-certification form, developed by the County of Mendocino in collaboration with West Business Development Center, found at www.mendocinocountybusiness.org. Businesses that were authorized to re-open under Health Officer Orders, issued prior to May 21, will have seven days to complete the same self-certification.

Following the achievement of Mendocino County’s completed attestation, Health Officer Dr. Noemi Doohan issued a revised Shelter-In-Place (SIP) Order today, Thursday, May 21, 2020, reflecting the new allowable activities, as of May 22, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. The major changes include allowing limited dine-in restaurants, limited in-person shopping at retail stores, and clarification that preventative dental care is allowable under healthcare operations. The Order also allows limited use of shared pools only for childcare units, children’s extracurricular units and work groups of lifeguard trainees.

Mendocino County’s revised SIP goes in effect tomorrow night Friday, May 22 at 11:59 p.m. and will be in place until June 12, 2020. 

The Health Order and a summary of the major changes are available online at https://www.mendocinocounty.org/community/novel-coronavirus/health-order. The order is enforceable by imprisonment and/or fine thus we urge all residents to closely read the order and follow it.

More information on Governor Newsom’s resilience roadmap and four-staged plan to reopen California, please visit: https://covid19.ca.gov/roadmap/. For more information on the businesses/sectors that fall within the various stages of re-opening, please view the Resilience Roadmap Business Sector Chart.