Marin Schools Lift Some COVID Restrictions

MARIN COUNTY, CA — With all indications pointing to an omicron decline, Marin schools have updated its COVID-19 protocols.

Marin Health Officer Dr. Matt Willis announced the lifting of some restrictions during a presentation before the county’s Board of Supervisors.

Marin schools lifted its 50-person cap on indoor gatherings, and has changed its guidance on outdoor facial coverings from “recommended” to “optional,” Willis said.

Willis’ announcement before the Board on Tuesday followed a statement on Monday in which Marin’s top health official said the state could lift COVID-19 restrictions within the next few weeks amid an apparent decline of omicron.

Marin's seven-day rolling average of new cases fell from 420 during the first week of January to around 280 this week, an approximately 38 percent drop, Willis said.

Those figures match declines in wastewater detection, with sampling taken from three of Marin's four catchment areas showing less community transmission, Willis said on Monday, noting the county's four catchments account for around 75 percent of the county's population.

On Tuesday, Willis said Marin was “entering a new phase of the pandemic response.”

“Our peak of the omicron surge is behind us, our case rates and hospitalizations remain elevated, our most severe outcomes are among those with known risk factors, especially vaccination status,” Willis said.

“We anticipate two to three more weeks of very high transmission rates but declining.

Willis said Marin will continue to employ “layered strategies, balanced policies and a focus on communities” in its new pandemic response.

“Our high vaccination rates are protecting us as individuals and as a community.”