Some of California’s largest provinces are now closer to a wider economic reopening than in months, with only a few strategically deployed COVID-19 vaccines between them and the ability to eat on site and welcome extra students for campus file.
According to new state data released Tuesday, the states of Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino recorded coronavirus rates low enough to enable them to escape the strictest, or purple, level of California’s reopening road map. However, the timing of when they officially end up in a less restricted category depends on how quickly vaccine can be administered to residents of some disadvantaged areas.
The magic number of doses is 2 million. Once California announced that many vaccinations were targeted at lower incomes communities, the state will relax the criteria, which together with the lower case numbers can move the provinces from purple to the more permissible red level. The state’s goal is to administer more doses in the areas that fall into the lowest quartile of the California Healthy Places Index, a socioeconomic measurement tool.
Currently, provinces need to have an adjusted rate of less than 7.0 new cases of coronavirus per day per 100,000 people to move to the red level. After the state reaches its 2 million dose target, which is likely to take place this week, provinces with a case rate of up to 10 new cases per day per 100,000 people will be eligible for the red level.
As part of this effort to address inequality in vaccine administration, California is now devoting 40% of its available inventory to residents in the most disadvantaged areas.
The adjusted threshold positions California provinces to more quickly lift the most severe coronavirus-related restrictions on businesses and public spaces.
According to the existing criteria, no province of LA, Orange or San Bernardino would be able to get off the press level this week.
However, because all three have recorded adjusted rates of less than 10 new cases per 100,000 people over the past two weeks, it appears that they may move soon after the state removes its vaccination barrier.
“Our understanding is that, within 48 hours of the state announcing that the vaccine has been vaccinated, LA County, along with other counties with qualifying cases, will move into the red level,” said the director of public health in LA. County, Barbara Ferrer, told the country. Board of Supervisors Tuesday.
According to the latest available state data, California reaches about 103,000 doses.
The most recent average rate for coronavirus, which is adjusted based on the number of tests performed, was 5.2 in LA, 6.0 in Orange County and 6.7 in San Bernardino.
A month ago, the calculated rates were 31.7 in Los Angeles County, 29.7 in Orange County and 32.7 in San Bernardino County.
Other areas in Southern California have seen similar sharp declines and are also working on a possible move to the red level. The most recent adjusted state list rates were 8.3 for Riverside County, 8.8 for San Diego County, 9.7 for Santa Barbara County, and 9.1 for Ventura County.
However, all these provinces will have to record case rates below 10 for another week to be eligible according to the relaxed criteria of the state.
Although the red level is the second most stringent of California’s reopening plans, reaching the category still offers much greater opportunities for business and other activities to begin again.
Provinces in the red level can have indoor restaurant and movie theaters reopened with 25% capacity or up to 100 people, whichever is the least. Personal classes may also be resumed for students in grades seven to 12.
Indoor gyms and dance and yoga studios have a capacity of 10%. Museums, zoos and aquariums can open indoor activities with a capacity of 25%, and non-essential shops and libraries can open at a capacity of 50%, compared to 25%.
Government officials also announced last week that amusement parks would be eligible for reopening from April 1, with restrictions, in provinces on the red levels – meaning attractions that have long been closed, such as Disneyland, Universal Studios, Knott’s Berry Farm and Six Flags Magic Mountain in Southern California may be. only a few weeks away to welcome visitors again.
Capacity will be limited to 15% for parks in provinces that are in the red level, and the cap will increase to 25% once a province is to orange and 35% to the lowest level yellow. Attendance will be limited to visitors in the state.
However, the rules of the state only serve as a measure. Provinces have the power to impose additional restrictions, which means that it is not obvious that a region will reopen immediately after it meets the state’s requirements.
In LA County, for example, Ferrer said that “we are looking closely at science to understand what practices can reduce the transmission of COVID-19 in the community.”
Everyone, she said, should be “extremely careful because we’ve been here” – they seem to be hoping for a hopeful way to get the coronavirus back on track with a fierce intensity.
“Let us not put ourselves in a risky situation again that is hampering our progress,” she said. “But more importantly, it really is the time to keep each other alive so that we can all be vaccinated.”
It remains to be seen whether LA prefers to hold out when it comes to certain activities – such as indoor dining – but some provincial officials have said they think the region will do well to follow state guidelines.
“Being different now, I think, would cause confusion and probably a lot of anger because there are so many places out there, entities that have really suffered,” supervisor Janice Hahn said Tuesday.
Supervisor Kathryn Barger said she was concerned that the fact that a rag blanket of different rules “travels through the province encourages participation in different activities.”
“It is my hope that we will be able to adapt to the rules of the state so that our residents can see the clear way forward and that our businesses are not harmed,” she said.
Even without changes to the thresholds, nine provinces were cleared to move into a less restrictive category this week.
Six – Alameda, Butte, Calaveras, Imperial, Santa Cruz and Solano – moved from the purple level to the red.
The provinces of Mariposa and Plumas moved from the red level to the next orange level, while Alpine County became the sole inhabitant of the yellow level.
The progress of counties from shallow to shallow dovetails with the constant rise of California from its devastating coronavirus wave in the fall and winter.
In the past week, California reported an average of 4,270 new coronavirus cases per day, down 37% from two weeks ago, according to data compiled by The Times.
“We’ve returned to the daily case numbers that now call our pre-flow levels, and that’s great news,” Ferrer said. “But it is critical to remember that continued declines are not inevitable.”
The number of coronavirus-positive patients in California’s hospitals also dropped, reaching 3,766 on Sunday, with 1,065 intensive care units.
Both of these figures are the lowest since mid-November.
Together with the threatened dose threshold of 2 million, government officials have set a further goal to administer a total of 4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to residents in targeted communities.
Once that happens, the state will further rewrite its reopening blueprint to make it easier for provinces to enter the orange and yellow levels.
The threshold to progress to orange will relax from a requirement of less than 4.0 daily new cases per 1000000 inhabitants to below 6.0. Entering the yellow level would require an adjusted rate of less than 2.0 daily new cases per 100,000 people, compared to the current requirement of less than 1.0.
It is unclear how long it will take to reach the dose of 4 million. Times data last week showed an average of 203,566 doses per day across California.
Government Gavin Newsom said Monday that the state “sees more and more progress every day as we reopen our economy and reopen our schools safely for personal public education.”
“The light is really bright at the end of this tunnel,” he said during an information session in Tulare County.