CA Coronavirus Update: One Southern California County Slides Backwards In State’s Reopening Tiers

California’s director of Health and Human Services, Dr. Mark Ghaly, announced on Tuesday the updated status of counties with respect to the state’s reopening tiers.

Three counties — Butte and Napa to Orange and San Francisco — were moved to the less-restrictive Yellow Tier.

Meanwhile, massive Riverside County and also Shasta County up north have been moved back into the most restrictive tier, Purple.

Ghaly noted that many other states are facing a resurgence of cases but CA is not. That was due “In part,” he said, to the fact that the state has a “slow and stringent” guidelines to recovery.

The state reported 3,286 new cases on Tuesday. The 14-day positivity rate was down to 2.6%.

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State models predict a 46% increase in hospitalizations over the next month. That prediction is down, but still substantial.

Under the Red tier: movie theaters and cultural ceremonies can open to 25% capacity or 100 people, whichever is fewer; gyms can open indoors to 10% capacity; childcare, drive-in theaters, family entertainment centers and hotels can open with modifications. Concert venues and live theater and festivals are still prohibited to operate.

Under the Orange tier: movie theaters and restaurants can open to 50% capacity or 200 people, whichever is fewer; bars, nail salons, childcare facilities, church services, day camps, doctors, family entertainment centers, gyms can open with modifications. Concert venues and live theater and festivals are still prohibited to operate.

NEW: California is launching a Blueprint for a Safer Economy.

It’s simple.

Your county will be assigned a color based on:
– Case rate
– Positivity rate

Your color determines how businesses can operate in your county.

Find your color & what’s open ➡️ https://t.co/xtXFwVeWc2 pic.twitter.com/fFXR7rbtU1

— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) August 28, 2020

CA county monitoring indicators include testing capacity, how much transmission of the virus is happening in a community, how many people are currently hospitalized for COVID-19, and the capacity of hospitals to care for people with COVID-19 with adequate numbers of available Intensive Care Unit beds and ventilators.