Biz guidelines relaxed with move to low-risk tier

Humboldt County is currently among one of the lowest risk counties in California for the spread of COVID-19, which has led to a relaxing of some health and safety precautions that will allow more businesses to reopen.

Businesses and organizations can increase occupancy limits and the services they offer, with most being allowed to operate at 50% maximum capacity, as a result of Humboldt County being placed in the state’s yellow tier, the least restrictive category, on Tuesday. Humboldt County Health Officer Dr. Teresa Frankovich said the county was assigned to the yellow tier because its two-week case count and positivity rates remain low, at 2% and 1.5%, respectively.

“If we want to stay in yellow, we all have to adhere to the safety measures that have helped get us here,” Frankovich said.

While the county’s case rate is still in the more restrictive orange tier, Frankovich said the fact that

the county has ensured no population is being disproportionately impacted by the novel coronavirus allowed it to move into the yellow tier.

Moving to a lower tier won’t change much for some business, such as Hatchet House Throwing Club in Arcata, which owner Lauren Fisher said reopened at 25% capacity once the county was moved to the orange tier.

“Even when we move down a tier, that’s not going to help us in any way because we still have to be six feet apart,” Fisher said.

The club has been filling the capacity it can currently have, which is five of its eight lanes, Fisher said.

“People have been really eager to come in and let off some steam,” Fisher said. “We haven’t been at full capacity, but we understand why.”

Other businesses that

have remained shuttered through most of the shelterin-place order are beginning to reopen as a result of shifting to the tier system, including the Minor Theatre in Arcata and the Oberon Grill in Eureka.

The Minor Theatre announced on Facebook that it will be reopening Friday with limited weekend runs and reserved seating. Its website lays out all of the health and safety protocols the theater has implemented, such as temperature checks for patrons, a 75% reduction in the number of shows and an additional 60% reduction in seating above and beyond the already limited capacity, among other things.

Nicholas Kohl, owner of the Oberon Grill, said he began to think about reopening his restaurant once the governor shifted to a tier system that is “less binary” and offers more mechanisms to allow for in-house dining, something Kohl said was necessary given the reality of the business climate.

“My staff came back to me and said, ‘We want you to open,’ “Kohl said. “My guests came to me and said,

‘We want you to open.’ So there were really voices coming from a lot of different directions saying, ‘We’re OK with the procedures and protocols you have and we want this to start back up.’ “

In the long run, Kohl said it’s not feasible for a restaurant to be operating at 50% capacity, but for the time being, it was necessary to keep the staff employed, maintain market share and continue to participate in the community.

“Part of my job now is how do I work with the city, county and state on what grants are available to improve outdoor dining,” Kohl said. “What can I do to adjust staffing and menu to make it easier or more flexible to sustain lower guest counts?”

Kohl said he sees the changes he’ll be implementing for health and safety as long-term investments for future disruptions because having to shut down, reopen and then shut down again has been costly.

The restaurant had just recovered from the losses incurred during the public safety power shutoffs that fall when the pandemic hit, Kohl said. Then the restaurant lost $2,000 worth of product when it had to shut back down after reopening in late spring.

“I have never seen anything close to this difficult to navigate and to maintain staffing,” Kohl said. “I know other businesses that can’t open because they can’t get staff.”

Winter is also a slow time for the restaurant, but Kohl said he was optimistic customers would come in after being cooped up at home for months.

“My initial response was to potentially close until February or March because I know what winter business is like in Old Town,” Kohl said. “It is not a time when we’re profitable. … But I had to step back from that vision because when things begin to open back up, it’s not going to matter what time of year it is.”