COVID: Sonoma County Business Owners Worried About Impact of New Health Order
SONOMA (CBS SF) – The new Sonoma County COVID health order urging people to stay home for the next month as the omicron variant continues to fuel a surge in Bay Area cases has some local business owners concerned about their bottom line.
Health officials said that based on data, it appears half of Sonoma County's cases are coming from large gatherings, leading officials to institute the new order in the hopes of reducing case numbers.
ALSO READ: Full text of new Sonoma County Health Order
The Total Look is the oldest women's clothing store in Sonoma. Owner Barbara Mezzetta says the health order is likely going to hurt her business.
"Gosh! I just heard it from you right now outside my shop and ummm…it's awful," said Mezzetta.
The Total Look has been in operation for 40 years. Since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, Mezzetta says they've just been maintaining. The health order asking residents to stay home except when necessary for the next 30 days presents another challenge for her business.
"Just when we're climbing up the mountain out of a hole. 30 days is a long time," explained Mezzetta.
The Sonoma County health order is also restricting indoor gatherings of more than 50 people and outdoor gatherings of more than 100 people, a move that will also hurt venues hosting live performances.
"We take things day by day. We try to ride with the situation and it has been really hard," said Roger Rhoten, the executive director at Sonoma's Sebastiani Theatre. "We have been lucky that we had a lot of community support and some of the grants we were able to get. That's helped keep us alive."
While live entertainment will eventually return to Sonoma, Simplicity by I-ELLE won't. The store is shutting down as owners consolidate with their napa location thanks to COVID.
"Hard to even fathom that we're having this happen again because it's hit businesses," said Simplicity by I-ELLE operations manager Nicole Frazetta.
Most business owners understand the need for the new order, but the ones KPIX spoke with said it doesn't make the fiscal impact any easier to take.
"There so many businesses that have already closed in Sonoma," said Barbara Mezzetta. "We are just lucky we've made it through."
The new county health order goes into effect at midnight Wednesday and will remain in place through February 11th.
