San Mateo and Marine counties Tuesday advanced into the second most restrictive category of the California reopening scheme, according to the California Department of Public Health. Both are out of the purple level, the category that imposes the strictest coronavirus rules.
Currently, all counties in the state are at the purple level except for 11 counties. But Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Tuesday that as rates of coronavirus cases continue to decline in the Bay Area and across California, five counties are turning red and he expects eight more counties to be allowed to ease restrictions next week – and “more than that in two weeks.”
San Francisco, which remains at the purple level at the moment despite having lower case numbers and positive test rates from San Mateo and Marin counties, may be among those advancing.
Mayor London Breed, a spokeswoman at the Washington Post Live Forum on Tuesday, said she is “hoping to make some announcements next week about some additional things we can reopen,” which include things like museums and personal matters.
“Restaurants will be able to expand,” she also said, without giving details.
Counties below the red level can allow retail stores and malls to operate at 50% of indoor capacity; Indoor museums, zoos, cinemas and dining with a capacity of 25%; And indoor gyms and fitness studios at 10%. Cultural celebrations, such as weddings and funerals, are also allowed indoors with a capacity of 25% or with 100 people, whichever is less.
Newsom said figures across the state were continuing to move in the right direction with cases, hospitalizations and deaths.
“When we talk about light, I’m talking about the bright light at the end of this tunnel,” Newsom said.
The state’s color-coded layer system has four levels: magenta (widespread), red (large), orange (medium), and yellow (minimum). The placement is based on three factors: new cases per 100,000 people, the rate of positive testing, and a measure of health equity linked to the rate of positive testing in disadvantaged communities.
Humboldt, Shasta and Yolo counties also moved from purple to red on Tuesday; While Trinity County has fallen into red from the orange tier.
Still, state standards are elusive.
Four counties in the Bay Area – San Francisco, Napa, Santa Clara and San Mateo – reported red tier data on Monday, but only San Mateo County exited the purple layer. Marin County has moved to the red level despite reporting adjusted case rates that remain at the purple level.
One explanation for the movement is the Score of Health Equity, which is the rate of positive testing for specific, low-income, disadvantaged neighborhoods. The result aims to measure how well counties are managing case and testing rates in the communities most affected by the epidemic.
According to the state reopening scheme, counties can progress from purple to red if they report a health equity score of 5% or less for two weeks in a row. The counties of San Matteo and Marin were the only ones in the Gulf region that met these criteria.
“We have focused on our communities most affected, and they seem to be paying off,” Dr. Matt Willis, Marin County Public Health Officer, said in a statement. “It is especially encouraging to see this progress as we move towards vaccinating essential workers. The addition of vaccine protection will help bring this progress to society as a whole.”
Moving to the red level also means that any Marin school that has not yet reopened for some form of personal education will be eligible to do so beginning March 1.
Newsom also signed a pandemic aid bill Tuesday, providing direct payments of $ 600 to millions of low-income California residents and making small businesses eligible for billions of dollars in grants and tax deductions.
The legislature on Monday overwhelmingly approved the package, which differs from the relief package suspended in Washington.
“We have to realize our responsibility to do more and do a better job of helping these small businesses at this very difficult time,” said Newsom.
The $ 7.6 billion package will waive some business fees to help soften the financial picture. Newsom said the package will grow to $ 10 billion within a few years.
Chronicle staff writers Irene Alday, Michael Williams, Trisha Thadani and Kelly Hwang contributed to this report.
Aidan Waziri is a writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected]
