Making progress — but not fast enough
San Joaquin County misses mark for red tier by half a point
It might be another week before San Joaquin County is promoted to the red tier of the California Department of Public Health’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy.
The CDPH announced promotions to the red tier at noon on Tuesday, and San Joaquin County missed the metric for new COVID-19 case rates by half a point.
To advance to the red tier, a county’s new case rate must be less than 10 per 100,000 residents, thanks to the state administering 2 million vaccines to underserved communities throughout California.
San Joaquin County’s new case rate Tuesday was 10.5 per 100,000 residents.
The San Joaquin County Office of Emergency Services Joint Information Center said missing the red tier was due to low testing rates, as well as the fact that the health equity rate increased to 5.8%, moving that metric from the orange to red tier status.
“Likely case rates are rising because only people who feel sick or were around a positive person are testing, rather than everyone in the community,” OES said.
In addition, OES said people are opting to take at-home tests or antigen testing, which are not reported to the CDPH and do not help the county reopen. Everyone in the community should be tested, whether they have symptoms or not, to demonstrate that the county is controlling the spread of COVID, OES said.
“We also want people to get vaccinated when it is their turn so that we can continue to see fewer new cases in the community, especially among the highest risk people are all eligible because of their status,” OES said.
Dr. Cathy Nichols-Washer, Lodi Unified School District superintendent, issued a statement on social media shortly after tier assignments were announced.
In the statement, Nichols Washer said that because the county remained in the purple tier, only students in grades Kindergarten through sixth, including preschool and TK classes, would return to campus March 29 for in-person instruction.
In addition, priority group students, such as special day classes, English as a Second Language classes and independent study, among others, will also return to campus.
Secondary students in grades 712 will return to camps when the county moves to the red tier.
“We know this is upsetting for our secondary families and students,” Nichols-Washer said. “We were very much looking forward to welcoming all students back to our schools for in-person instruction.”
Half the students in grades K-6 will attend class on campuses two days a week and engage in distance learning two days under the district’s hybrid education model. All students will be on remote learning one day a week under the plan.
Sacramento County was one of about a dozen promoted to the red
tier Tuesday, as its new case rate fell to 8 per 100,000 residents.
Galt Joint Union High School District posted a reopening plan last week, which stated that if Sacramento County was assigned to the red tier, students would return to campus Thursday.
The district is also planning on implementing a hybrid instruction model, which will have students with last names A-L attending campus on two alternate days of the week, and students with last names M-Z attending another two alternate days. All students will engage in remote learning one day of the week.
This hybrid schedule will last until March 25, when the district goes on its spring break. Upon returning April 6, students who wish to return to campus will do so Tuesday through Friday.
Mondays will be reserved for staff meetings, professional development, COVID testing and intervention, the district said.
If a class has more students than it can handle, some may be moved to an overflow classroom. And if social distancing cannot be maintained in classrooms, students may be required to attend school on a 50/50 hybrid model, the district said.
The Galt Joint Union Elementary School District will return to campus March 22, with a blended morning/afternoon model that will see three different cohorts attend school in a staggered succession. Students will attend campus Tuesday through Friday, with Mondays set aside for staff planning and collaboration.
Under red tier guidelines, restaurants can return to indoor service with 100 people or 25% capacity, whichever is lower, and retail shops can allow customers inside at 50% capacity. Professional sports can resume without live audiences, and places of worship can hold indoor services at 25% capacity.
Wineries and breweries that do not serve food can still only operate outdoors with reservations and a 90-minute time limit. They must also close by p.m.
Movie theaters can also reopen with 100 people inside or at 25% capacity, whichever is lower.
San Joaquin County Public Health Services has not updated its COVID-19 dashboard since March 11, when it reported 67,817 cases and 1,210 deaths since the pandemic began a year ago. There were 1,405 active COVID-19 cases on that date.
There have been 4,609 cases in Lodi’s 95240 ZIP Code, as well as 131 deaths, and 1,927 cases and 33 deaths in the 95242 ZIP Code.
There have been 252 cases in Lockeford’s 95237 ZIP Code, along with six deaths, while there have been 499 cases and eight deaths in Acampo.
In Woodbridge, there have been 322 cases and seven deaths, according to county public health.
The county was on of 11 still in the state’s purple tier Tuesday, along with Glenn, Yuba, Nevada, Stanislaus, Merced, Madera, Fresno, Kings, Kern and Inyo.
San Mateo, Mariposa, Sierra and Plumas counties were in the orange tier as of Tuesday, while Alpine County was the lone area in the yellow, and least restrictive tier.
Sacramento County was one of the remaining 42 counties in the red tier, reporting 95,556 cases and 1,551 deaths since the pandemic began. There have been 2,648 cases and 42 deaths in Galt.