The provinces of Los Angeles and Orange are entering uncharted waters, as a declining coronavirus wave has both regions on the brink of further reopening than ever before.
The two provinces, the largest and the third largest population of the state, have now submitted the necessary data of a week needed to progress in the orange level – a step that a more important and wider opening of enterprises and other public spaces.
Their progress, which could already take place next week if their benchmarks are stable, will accelerate the recent resurgence of the state’s reopening doctrine.
Over the past few weeks, the vast majority of California provinces have improved to the point that they have been able to ward off the state’s strictest restrictions on combating the spread of COVID-19.
Under the state’s reopening strategy, provinces are sorted into one of four color-coded levels – purple, where coronavirus spread is considered widespread and domestic operations are severely restricted or directly suspended in a wide range of business sectors; red; orange; and lastly, yellow, where most businesses can be open indoors with changes.
While California has made tremendous progress in the wake of a devastating fall and winter rush, the orange and yellow levels remain a fairly exclusive, though growing club.
According to state data released Tuesday, a handful of provinces will move into the orange level this week: San Francisco, Santa Clara, Marin, Trinity, Lassen and Yolo.
In that level also live provinces of Mariposa, Plumas and San Mateo. Only two provinces, Alpine and Sierra, have gone yellow.
The provinces of Kern, Nevada and Stanislaus moved into the red level this week.
Kern’s progress means that the entire southern third of the state has now moved out of the press level – a dramatic change in the fall and winter boom, which has hit the region particularly hard.
Thirty-nine provinces in California, with a combined population of 33.4 million, are now in the red. Only eight – Fresno, Glenn, Inyo, Kings, Madera, Merced, San Joaquin and Yuba – remain in the press.
Directional assignments depend on three factors: cases of coronavirus, adjusted based on the number of tests performed; the rate of positive test results; and a measure of health equity aimed at ensuring that the positive test score in poorer communities is not significantly higher than the country’s overall score.
To reach the orange level, a country must have an adjusted coronavirus rate of 3.9 or less new cases per 100,000 people per day, a test positivity rate of less than 5% and a health equity standard of less than 5 , 3%.
Both LA and Orange counties checked all the blocks, according to the data, and their most recent calculated adjusted rate was 3.7 and 3.5, respectively.
Provinces must record two consecutive weeks of qualifying data to progress to a less restrictive level and must remain in a level for at least three weeks before moving again.
The provinces of Alameda, Colusa and Santa Cruz, for example, banked orange-worthy data for two consecutive weeks, but they have to wait to move forward because they have not been in the red level long enough.
In addition to the provinces of LA and Orange, Butte, Calaveras, El Dorado, Imperial, Modoc, Napa and Tuolumne are other provinces that need to maintain their benchmarks to possibly move completely into the orange level next week.
By reaching the orange level, provinces can allow bars to reopen outdoors, with modifications, without having to serve food.
In addition, capacity constraints in stores are being lifted (although pandemic safety adjustments still apply); permissible indoor capacity increases from 25% to 50% for places of worship, museums, zoos and aquariums; the maximum capacity for indoor restaurant and movie theaters increases from 25% or 100 people, whichever is less, to 50% or 200 people, whichever is less; and indoor gym and yoga studio capacity increases from 10% to 25%.
Amusement parks – which can open in low-level provinces from 1 April – will be allowed to further expand their maximum allowable attendance to 25% capacity.
The capacity limit for outdoor sports and live performances, which also applies on 1 April, will increase to 33% for provinces in the orange level.
However, even when state criteria are met, provinces can choose to maintain stricter reopening rules.
The recent comprehensive and significant movement of provinces through the state’s level system is made possible by two factors: continued progress in the fight against COVID-19, and a new strategy that facilitates the criteria for progress as more of the most vulnerable Californians are vaccinated word. .
Government officials set an initial goal of administering 2 million COVID-19 vaccine doses in less targeted communities – those within the lowest quartile of a socio-economic measurement tool called the California Healthy Places Index – and a target of 4 million doses.
To support the effort, the state is now devoting 40% of its available COVID-19 vaccines to residents in those areas.
When California cleared its first self-imposed vaccine gate earlier this month, the state began allowing provinces with an adjusted case rate of up to 10 new cases per day per 100,000 people to leave the press level. Previously, provinces had to have case rates of less than seven per 100,000 people to move to the red level.
That lower threshold paved the way for many counties, including much of Southern California, to enter the red level faster than they would otherwise.
Once the state reaches 4 million, the threshold to move to the orange level will relax from a requirement of less than 4.0 new cases per day per 100,000 inhabitants to less than 6.0. Entering the yellow level would require an adjusted daily rate of less than 2.0 per 100,000 people, compared to the current requirement of less than 1.0.
However, this is probably still some time. As of Tuesday morning, approximately 2.9 million doses of vaccine had been administered in the targeted communities.