Contra Costa County Allowed To Reopen Under Red Tier Guidelines

San Ramon CA

29 September, 2020

4:57 PM

Description

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA — Contra Costa County met the requirements for two consecutive weeks to move from the purple to the red tier on California's COVID-19 risk assessing blueprint Tuesday. The county recorded a 3.7 percent positivity rate over a week-long period and will now move forward with reopening. Businesses including movie theaters, restaurants and places of worship will now be able to reopen indoors after months of closure, but at a limited capacity. If the county can remain in the red tier for two weeks, elementary and secondary schools can reopen for in-person instruction Oct. 13. "Making progress on the COVID-19 metrics is a positive development,"  Contra Costa County Superintendent  of Schools Lynn Mackey said in a Tuesday statement. "However, we also know that each community is being affected by this pandemic in different ways." Presently, elementary schools can apply for a waiver from a health officer to reopen. "Schools and school districts have to make the decision on how and when to return students and teachers to physical classrooms based on the situation in their local communities," Mackey continued. " Even then, there is still a lot of work to do to ensure that the physical spaces are safe and the proper procedures in place." The following businesses and services can now reopen with modifications: Places of worship, restaurants, movie theaters and museums can be operated indoors at 25 percent capacity or 100 people, whichever is lessGyms can reopen indoors at 10 percent capacityAll personal care services, including massage, can move indoorsIndoor shopping malls can operate at 50 percent maximum occupancy (instead of 25 percent). Food courts can also open following the state's guidelines for restaurants.Indoor retail stores can now operate at 50 percent capacity (instead of 25 percent)Outdoor playgrounds "The credit really belongs to the residents of Contra Costa, who have adapted to the new normal and modified their lifestyles to reduce the spread of COVID in the county," said Dr. Chris Farnitano in a news release Tuesday, the county's health officer. He also added that Contra Costa County continued to see its coronavirus numbers decline or remain steady even after the Labor Day weekend, suggesting fewer people engaged in large social gatherings compared to the previous holiday weekends. In order to move into the less restrictive red tier, the county had to see average case rates drop below 7 per 100,000 people and testing positivity rates dip below 8 percent. As of Tuesday, the case rate was 6.7 per 100,000 people and the testing positivity rate was 3.7 percent. The state moved 10 counties total into lower tiers of the state's four-tiered COVID-19 risk blueprint Tuesday, California Department of Public Health Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly announced in an afternoon news conference. While Ghaly mentioned that hospitalizations were up, cases overall were still on the decline as the state reported a record low 2.8 percent positivity rate over a 14 day period, and reported that test results were being processed faster with most receiving results in just over one day. Ghaly announced 2,162 cases reported Tuesday and about 128,693 COVID-19 tests administered on a daily average. Seven counties, Butte, Contra Costa, Fresno, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Santa Barbara and Yolo, were moved into the red tier or substantial tier, below the worst tier, the widespread purple tier. Ghaly said Los Angeles County met the criteria for the red tier last week but missed it this week. Ventura County found itself in a similar situation. Amador, Calavaras and San Francisco counties have moved into the orange tier, which allows schools to reopen fully for in-person instruction and restaurants may open indoors at 50 percent capacity or host 200 people — whichever is fewer. Click for an interactive blue print of the state's tiered COVID-19 system. (CA State) Mariposa county moved last week to the yellow tier, minimal risk and is one of just three counties in the minimal tier. Within this tier, restaurants bars can open indoors at 50 percent capacity, schools may fully reopen and fitness centers may reopen at 50 percent capacity. Ghaly repeatedly emphasized yet again that the "slow and stringent approach," was necessary to keep the state on a steady downward trajectory. "Our whole approach with slow and stringent comes from the lessons we learned in early spring and summer when businesses had just reopened, but were forced to close their doors..." he said. As for any updates on opening theme parks and the upcoming Halloween holiday, Ghaly said that guidelines were coming. Statewide, outdoor playgrounds were reopened to the public Monday following guidelines for local officials and visitors. Ghaly announced last week that Nail salons would be able to reopen indoors after months of closure and in some cases, offering manicures outdoors. Ghaly also warned of the upcoming flu season mixing with the presence of the common cold in the fall. He warned that those who fall ill to normal seasonal viruses may become confused and believe they have coronavirus. To combat this, Ghaly urged Californians to get a flu shot and continue wearing a mask in social situations. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the Bay Area was already seeing influenza cases.