Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday unveiled a new system to monitor the coronavirus in California, revamping the state’s watchlist for its 58 counties into color-coded levels that should simplify the process of reopening.
The new system starts Monday and, in some ways, is more permissive, allowing even the most restrictive counties to open retail, shopping centers and other businesses such as barbers and hair salons indoors.
The new guidelines focus only on rates for new cases and positive tests and require counties to meet certain thresholds for a minimum of three weeks before moving from purple, to red, to orange and then yellow. Depending on what happens this weekend, most Bay Area counties will start out purple.
The state specifically excluded a green level, Newsom said, “because we don’t believe there’s a green light that says go back to the way things were.”
And there is also an “emergency brake” in case other markers the state had tracked on the old county watchlist, such as hospitalizations, go up significantly.
“We’re going to be more stubborn this time,” Newsom said.
The state will begin using the new system Monday but already is featuring a color-coded map on its website at https://covid19.ca.gov/safer-economy/
Currently, 87% of Californians are living in purple counties — similar to the old system’s watchlist — where the virus is widespread, including most of the Bay Area. On Friday, the map showed San Francisco and Napa counties in the second less-restrictive tier of red, where the spread of the virus is substantial. Under the new guidelines, counties in the red tier will be able to open restaurants indoors with 25% capacity or 100 people, whichever is fewer.
But similar to the old system, counties can still decide to impose stricter requirements than the state, meaning they could limit how and when businesses may reopen. Contra Costa and San Mateo counties, which were listed as purple Friday, said they would allow retail and salons to move to indoor service starting Monday. But other Bay Area counties said Friday afternoon they were still reviewing the new rules.
By Friday evening, Santa Clara County had given the green light for hair salons and barbershops that follow the safety guidelines put in place by the county and state to begin indoor operations next week. The County also said indoor malls will be able to reopen, but only at 25% capacity.
Ashley Flowers, manager of Insignia Hair Salon in Walnut Creek, says the prospect of reopening on Monday is a “big stress relief.”
“Being indoors and only being able to do 25% capacity is still a hardship, but we’re thankful to be doing it so we still have a job,” Flowers said.
Newsom said the aim of the new system is to be cautious and take things slow: Counties will not be able to move forward with reopening as fast as under the old system, which sparked major concerns after the Golden State saw a wave of new cases and deaths this summer. Previously, counties were asked to attest that they’d met a number of different requirements, but there was widespread confusion about why counties with similar metrics, such as Orange and Santa Clara, were permitted to move toward reopening at different speeds. So far, California has recorded more than 693,000 cases of the virus, and more than 12,700 people have died.
Now, counties will have to remain on each color tier for at least three weeks and demonstrate two weeks straight of “stability” to move forward. Under the new system, counties that fail to meet one of the two metrics land in the stricter tier:
- Purple means there is still widespread transmission of COVID-19 — more than 7 daily new cases per 100,000 residents or more than 8% of tests returning positive. In the purple tier, counties still must close many indoor operations.
- Red is when there is substantial transmission — meaning a new case rate between 4-7 per 100,000 and a testing positivity rate between 5-8% — and some non-essential businesses must remain closed.
- Orange means a a new case rate of between 1-3.9 per 100,000 and a testing positivity rate of between 2-4.9%.
- Yellow is below that, where most businesses are allowed to operate indoors, but with modifications such as mask wearing and social distancing.
When any given business can reopen will depend on what sector the state says it’s in. For instance, clothing and shoe stores can start to do some indoor business even in the purple tier.
But bars and breweries that don’t serve food must stay closed until counties reach the orange tier, when they can open outdoors. Only when they reach the yellow tier can they start to serve inside. Gyms must only operate outdoors in the purple tier but can begin to allow indoor activity — albeit at just 10% capacity — when counties move to the red tier.
“I appreciate the simple, stringent approach Newsom has taken to bend the curve, but I do have concerns about how ‘slow’ the approach should be considering the high numbers of businesses on the brink of closure and those who have already lost their jobs,” said San Mateo County Supervisor David Canepa. “The burden more than ever is on the public to take personal responsibility to limit the spread of COVID, including avoiding large crowds, washing your hands and maintaining social distancing. Most importantly, though, is that we must continue to wear our damn masks.”
Some schools will still be able to move forward with plans to reopen classrooms. Schools in the purple tier can apply for waivers, as more than 62 schools and districts have done in Santa Clara County. Once a county moves to the red tier from purple, schools will need to wait two weeks and then can pursue reopening, at the discretion of local health officials and district leaders.“These are the guidelines,” Newsom said, “to get us through this flu season, this twin-demic, as we deal with flu and we deal with COVID-19, to work for these next few months in California.”
The Link LonkAugust 29, 2020 at 03:40AM
https://www.mercurynews.com/california-revamps-pathway-for-counties-to-reopen-amid-coronavirus-pandemic
Purple, red, orange, yellow: California revamps pathway for counties to reopen amid coronavirus pandemic - The Mercury News
https://news.google.com/search?q=Red&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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