2 more Bay Area counties set to upgrade to Orange this week



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Two more Bay Area counties are expected to move from red to the most forgiving orange level in the state’s plan to reopen, paving the way for more reopening.

Alameda and Napa are on their way to joining Marin, San Francisco, Santa Clara and San Mateo counties at orange level.

Sonoma, Solano and Contra Costa will likely stay in the red for at least another week.

“We are heading in the right direction and if current trends continue we expect that we may enter the orange level this week,” Alameda County spokesman Neetu Balram wrote in a statement. . “When we move up to the Orange level, we plan to align with the state on permitted activities and restrictions for that level.”

The state’s color-coded reopening framework assigns a level to each county, dictating which lines of business and what activities can operate. The state announces new tier assignments on Tuesday and Wednesday, counties may move forward with reopenings.

The state system classifies counties into four levels – “purple” (widespread), “red” (substantial), “orange” (moderate) or “yellow” (minimal) – which measure the spread of COVID-19 and dictate the types of businesses and activities are allowed to open.

The allocation of county levels is based on three parameters: the adjusted case rate (number of new cases per 100,000 inhabitants, adjusted according to the volume of tests); the positivity rate (percentage of people who tested positive for the virus of all people tested); a measure of health equity; and the number of vaccines administered.


Counties in the purple category report more than 10 new daily cases per 100,000 population and have positivity rates above 8%. For a county to go red, it must report an average of four to 10 cases per day per 100,000 population and a 5% to 8% positivity test for 14 consecutive days. The orange level requires one to 3.9 cases per 100,000 and a test positivity of 2% to 4.9%, and the yellow one less than one case per 100,000 and a positivity less than 2%.

Here is what the state allows to reopen in orange. A county can choose to be stricter than the state and not go ahead with all the openings.

-The interior capacity of places of worship increases to 50%

-The indoor capacity of museums and zoos increases to 50%

-The indoor capacity of cinemas increases to 50%

-The indoor capacity of gyms increases to 25%

-The indoor capacity of restaurants increases to 50%

-Card rooms can reopen indoors with 25% capacity

-Family entertainment centers can reopen with 25% capacity

Alameda County recalled that while the jump into the orange is a good sign, residents still need to implement health safety measures,

“The pandemic is not over and case rates are increasing in parts of the country,” Balram wrote in an email. “We need residents, workers and businesses to continue to follow the COVID-19 safety measures that we know to work: wear a mask, wash your hands, and keep at least six feet away from all person you don’t live with. , but not without risk. If you’ve been exposed to someone who has recently tested positive or is showing symptoms, get tested. Masks are mandatory for everyone outside of their home, even if you have been fully immunized. When it’s your turn, we encourage you to get the first vaccine offered to you. “

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