Update: ‘We cannot let our guard down.’ Stanislaus leaders on county’s move to red tier
Stanislaus County was moved to the red tier of California’s coronavirus reopening plan in an update Tuesday that allows middle schools and high schools to reopen.
The county’s COVID-19 transmission data was low enough to justify the move from purple tier to red status, according to the state’s weekly update Tuesday.
A spreadsheet maintained by the California Department of Public Health added a footnote saying Stanislaus was moved to red tier “based on stable and improving trends.”
According to the state’s official tier map, Stanislaus County barely missed the criteria for countywide test positivity by .1 percent after the number was rounded down. The county has qualified for red tier by bringing its test positivity data in line with orange tier requirements.
To advance that way to the next less restrictive tier, test positivity must be below 5 percent for the entire county and also in underserved neighborhoods that have been hard hit by the coronavirus. County staff said test positivity for the entire county was 4.96 percent, squeaking under the limit set by the state.
Stanislaus had been stuck in the purple tier and its tight restrictions since Nov. 16.
County leaders were pleased with the update Tuesday but also sent a message they want to continue with the process of advancing to tiers that impose fewer pandemic restrictions and signal it’s safe to reopen. That means members of the public should continue to wear masks and get vaccinated when they are eligible.
“We still can’t let our guard down,” county Supervisor Mani Grewal said. “We need to make sure people are getting vaccinated and are still taking precautions. We don’t want to go back to the purple tier in two weeks.”
The next goal is reaching the state’s orange tier, which would further reinforce decisions to reopen business activity, such as restaurants hiring employees for indoor dining.
Counties must remain in their current tier for three weeks before they can move to a less restrictive tier. Two straight weeks of purple tier data will cause Stanislaus to backslide and be saddled with the purple regulations again.
“Our residents have once again stepped up and helped us move forward through their efforts in controlling the spread of COVID-19,” said Dr. Julie Vaishampayan, county public health officer, in a news release issued Tuesday. “However, we cannot let our guard down. We could easily slip back into purple tier if we do not stay vigilant.”
Vaishampayan said that increased mixing by residents will come with business reopenings, and that will cause the coronavirus to spread “unless we consistently do those actions we know will stop the spread of COVID-19.”
Those practices include keeping distance from other people, wearing a mask, washing hands and getting tested if individuals think they have been exposed to the virus.
With the move to red tier, a number of activities can resume, effective Wednesday. Indoor restaurant dining, movie theaters, museums and indoor lectures at colleges are allowed at 25 percent normal capacity, the county said.
Retail stores and shopping centers can operate at 50 percent capacity. After months of being disallowed, gyms and fitness centers can open at 10 percent capacity.
The tier reassignment gives grocery stores the green light to be open at full capacity, so food shoppers are likely to encounter more people in the aisles.
In other advice issued by county public health, residents are asked to avoid crowds and move activities outdoors.
“The fewer people you encounter or interact with, the lower the chance the virus will spread,” the county news release said.
Stanislaus County’s daily case rate remained above the typical level of counties permitted to move into the red tier, which is reserved for counties with “substantial” spread of COVID-19 illness. The county’s case rate was 12.3 per 100,000 population, higher than the red tier standard of 10 per 100,000 and still in the range where coronavirus is considered “widespread.”
The data shows the weekly average of new cases remains above 56 per day.
This story was originally published March 23, 2021 at 11:37 AM.
