Napa County may be next in line to close restaurants, bars

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Napa County may be next in line to close restaurants, bars
An employee disinfects seating as customers sit at the bar at Downtown Joe's restaurant and bar in Napa, California on May 20, 2020. Taking advantage of Napa's liberalized shelter-in-place rules, some restaurants have begun to fully reopen with new safety requirements in place.

With the coronavirus case count climbing, officials in Napa expect the county will be forced to take a step back in reopening, shutting down indoor dining, wineries, tasting rooms and other activities.

Napa city officials announced Monday the likelihood of closures, saying that the state has flagged the county that its coronavirus rate has exceeded the threshold of 100 positive cases per 100,000 people. On Saturday, the rate was 137.9.

If the rate remains over 100 for three consecutive days, a county is subject to increased restrictions.

“It is expected that Napa County will remain on the monitoring list for three consecutive days and will be subject to the requirements listed in Governor Newsom’s July 1st order requiring the closure of the following businesses for a minimum of three weeks,” city officials said in the afternoon announcement.

If the case rate remains high, city officials said they believed businesses would have to adhere to increased closures as of midnight Thursday.

County officials were not immediately available for comment.

Napa would join several other counties on the state’s watch list and subject to increased restrictions after reopening restaurants and other businesses.

“It is critical that the community continue to follow best practices including wearing a face covering, staying within your household bubble, maintaining a physical distance of at least six feet from those not in your household, and avoiding parties and gatherings,” said county Supervisor Diane Dillon. “If Napa County cannot improve its metrics, we will likely be subject to an extended closure and additional measures.”

The closures would include: brewpubs, breweries, bars and pubs, both indoor and outdoor services; indoor dining at restaurants; indoor wineries and tasting rooms; indoor family entertainment centers; indoor movie theaters; indoor zoos and museums; and indoor cardrooms.

County officials were expected to provide an update to the possible closures on Tuesday.

Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @jilltucker

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