LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The California Department of Public Health on Tuesday said four counties – including Lake – are moving into less-restrictive tiers on the state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy as case rates continue to fall and vaccinations increase across the state.
Lake County is now set to move into the orange, or moderate, tier as of 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, Sarah Marikos, the county’s epidemiologist, told the Board of Supervisors in a Tuesday morning update.
At the time of Public Health’s update to the board, Lake County’s pending move into the orange tier hadn’t been formally announced by the state. That confirmation came around noon on Tuesday.
The state moved Lake County into the red tier, which signifies “substantial” virus in the community, on March 17. At that point, Lake County had spent nearly four months in the purple or “widespread” tier, the most restrictive, due to its high case rate.
In addition to Lake County, three other counties moving to less-restrictive tiers on Wednesday are Inyo, purple to red; Kern, red to orange; and Lassen, orange to yellow, the state reported. No counties are moving to a more restrictive tier.
The state said one county, Merced, remains in the purple tier, while 21 remain in the red tier, 33 in the orange and three in the yellow, or “minimal,” tier.
Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state will fully reopen its economy on June 15 if the vaccine supply is sufficient for Californians 16 years and older who wish to be inoculated and if hospitalization rates are stable and low.
Once the state fully reopens, the governor said the Blueprint for a Safer Economy will end.
Case rates down; restrictions loosen for businesses, events
Dr. Evan Bloom, who is acting as interim Public Health officer while Dr. Gary Pace is on vacation, told the supervisors that Lake County’s case numbers continue to be on a downward trajectory, and Marikos also reported that only 14 cases have so far been identified in the most recent week.
While Lake County’s dropping case rate helped it into the red tier, Marikos also pointed out that changes in the state’s tier system had facilitated that move.
That tier system was updated last week after the state reached more than four million vaccinations in the hardest-hit communities in the state as shown on the Healthy Places Index.
Six Lake County zip codes – Clearlake, Clearlake Oaks, Finley, Lucerne, Nice and Upper Lake – are among the approximately 446 across California in the Healthy Places Index’s lowest quartile and so were the focus of those four million vaccinations.
Going forward, Marikos said Lake County can’t have more than 27 cases in a given week to remain in the orange tier.
Bloom said there is an “exhaustive list” of changes for businesses and events as a result of Lake County’s move from the red to the orange tier.
He highlighted a few of them:
– Restaurants can move from 25 to 50 percent capacity.
– All retail can be open indoors with modifications but without a maximum capacity.
– Wineries will be able to be open to 25 percent capacity without reservations.
– Bars can be open outdoors with modifications.
– Gyms and fitness centers can increase from 10 percent to 25 percent of maximum capacity.
– Outdoor gatherings will go from a maximum 25 participants to 50.
– Indoor gatherings can have 25 people or 25-percent capacity (these events are still discouraged but if attended, masks should be worn, he said).
– For private events that are ticketed, invitation-only or have controlled entry, up to 100 people will be allowed, doubling the previous limit. If attendees are vaccinated, as many as 300 attendees are allowed.
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Lake County to move into orange tier on state's COVID-19 blueprint; business restrictions to be reduced
- Elizabeth Larson
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