Sonoma County Residents Sad As Some COVID Restrictions Return – CBS San Francisco

SANTA ROSA (CBS SF) — Case numbers are rising so fast in Sonoma County that health officials are urging everyone to make changes.
The county says more than half of its new cases are from large crowds. So it bans those – 50 people inside, 100 outside.
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The health authorities are also asking everyone to voluntarily stay at home as much as possible.
“We all have our chances,” said Barry Marshall in Santa Rosa. “I’m a bit skeptical about the effect of staying 30 days in the house.”
Given the severe exhaustion of nearly two years of the pandemic, Sonoma County’s new health order was bound to provoke some skepticism and some eye-rolling. That doesn’t mean the message doesn’t get through.
“I heard a directive that people should be responsible,” Rick explains in Petaluma.
With the case rate up nearly 400% in two weeks, Sonoma hospitals now fear they could end up with triple the number of patients they saw during last winter’s surge. It is this concern, an overwhelmed healthcare system, that worries many people.
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“Okay, let’s say you break your leg,” says Rick. “Would you like to be able to use these services?”
“It’s been two long years,” says Jenny Cherney, a jewelry store owner. “It was pretty brutal for small businesses.”
Cherney says the 30-day request will almost certainly lead to fewer deals.
“But I’m more concerned about my community,” she explains. “I don’t want people to get sick and die, and if I have to put the brakes on everything for a while, that’s it.”
And that’s the hope in the frustration that this is really just for “a little while.”
“Oh, definitely,” says Marshall. “I think by March 1st we’ll be done with most of it.”
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The health regulation does not apply to workplaces, restaurants, shopping centers or schools. It officially comes into effect at midnight. and lasts until February 11th.