The no-parking signs have been removed, the gates have been opened and many restaurant patios are now open for diners: In a big step for the tourist-based economy of West Marin, driving to parks and beaches and dining outdoors is now allowed.
Still, the coronavirus continues to spread, with Marin surpassing 500 confirmed cases and reporting three new deaths this week. And with protests against systemic racism sweeping the nation, the conversation around Covid-19 is focused on the unjust way the disease has affected people of color.
Although Marin’s black residents have not suffered heavily from the disease—only four cases have been reported—the Latino community has been hit especially hard. Latinos represent 16 percent of the population, yet they have experienced 59 percent of positives cases. In the past two weeks, 85 percent of positive cases were Latino residents.
“The vast majority of cases we are seeing now are among people of low income, who have been out in the workforce since the shelter-in-place began—people who are working on the front lines in groceries, [as] housekeepers, in hospitals and skilled nursing facilities,” Dr. Matt Willis, Marin’s public health officer, told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. “And the dynamic is they, because of income, live in close quarters because of the unaffordability of housing… and that is really what is driving our numbers.”
Marin is among the top counties in California in terms of case rates. In the past two weeks, Marin has seen 60 positive cases per 100,000 residents; the state requires a rate of 25 cases per 100,000 to allow a local government to relax restrictions before the governor does so. Early hotspots and denser areas like San Francisco and Santa Clara are seeing lower case rates than Marin.
But the key metric for Dr. Willis in his decision making is not case rates, but rather the number of hospitalizations, and Marin is stable with just two this week. Dr. Willis said he is surprised that more cases aren’t leading to more serious illness, which he said could be a result of focused testing of frontline workers who are often younger and healthier.
Marin is encouraging every worker who comes into regular contact with the public to be tested once a month. As the shelter-in-place order winds down, individual responsibility around mask wearing and physical distancing becomes even more critical, Dr. Willis said.
“The default of our lives should be remaining at home with that stable cohort of people we live with—our household members—because, as we are seeing in our case numbers, the virus is flowing more and more in our community,” he said.
To combat the racial inequity in cases, the county is launching a pilot program next week with $50,000 and a matching contribution from the Marin Community Foundation to financially support positive patients who don’t have paid leave. Marin is also working with the nonprofit Canal Alliance to train bilingual contact tracers and get Spanish-language messaging out. Testing is increasingly focused on the Canal neighborhood of San Rafael, a city that has seen 218 positive cases of Marin’s 525.
Dr. Willis and his team are relaxing the shelter order every two weeks, barring a jump in hospitalizations. Libraries and offices were also included in this week’s relaxation, although employees are still encouraged to work from home when possible. West Marin’s four library branches are scheduled to open for curbside pickup by June 15, shortly after the pop-up childcare center, which is staffed with a significant number of West Marin employees, closes at the Novato branch.
Restrictions on short-term rentals remain in effect, but Supervisor Dennis Rodoni said he is hopeful they can open to regular guests later this month.
The health department is planning to allow indoor retail, outdoor worship services, hair salons and indoor dining starting June 15, as long as safe guidelines are in place and the number of people hospitalized with Covid-19 is stable.
The allowance of driving to parks and beaches is based on evidence that the coronavirus is far less likely to spread outdoors.
In the Point Reyes National Seashore, all areas of the park are open to vehicles except Mesa Road to the Palomarin Trailhead, Sir Francis Drake Boulevard beyond Drakes Beach Road, and Mount Vision Road. Restrooms are open, but visitor centers and campsites are still closed. All ranger-led programs and volunteer activities remain cancelled, although a number of staff continue to perform critical functions like visitor and resource protection. The park is operating under an “incident command structure,” with a small workforce based out of the Bear Valley headquarters, outreach coordinator Melanie Gunn said. The rest of the staff is working from home.
Tomales Bay State Park is planning to open its gates before the weekend, and Marin Municipal Water District lands are fully open. Private recreation areas, like the former San Geronimo Golf Course and the Dillon Beach Resort, have reopened their parking lots. Resort owner Mike Goebel said cars will be spaced six feet apart, and travelers will have to wait or turn around when the lot fills up.
The Stinson Beach parking lot, managed by the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, is not yet open. Supervisor Rodoni said the National Park Service planned to open the lot on June 8, but the county wants it to open this weekend. Marin County Parks offered to send employees to help manage the lot and restrooms, whose closure has led to crowded neighborhood streets, angry first responders and residents, and an all-around messy scene in town. A spokesman for G.G.N.R.A. could not say when the park would fully reopen.
Restaurants with patios are also getting ready to serve customers again. The Station House Café, Nick’s Cove and the William Tell House will be open this weekend, and the Two Bird Cafe will open next week.
Ted Wilson, the owner of the William Tell, said he has no idea what to expect. He brought 11 employees back in anticipation of reopening. Diners can order online, and meals will be delivered on a cart by masked wait staff.
“We don’t know what the customer comfortability is going to be,” he said. “We’re excited to open up, but we also have a good level of anxiety and nervousness around it. We’re just trying to get back into a rhythm.”
Every business that is open is required to fill out and post a site-specific protection plan, available at MarinRecovers.com. The document, which is intended to reflect internal practices, requires business owners to describe their cleaning practices, training methods and safety protocols.
If you are in need of any kind of assistance, call Marin County Health and Human Services at (415) 473.7191, and they will direct you to services.