Move to red tier expected Wednesday
SALINAS » Indoor dining, museums, gyms and movie theaters are on the verge of being allowed to return with limited capacity in Monterey County on next week’s anniversary of the local shelterin-place order that locked down businesses and other activities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The news prompted local elected officials and business representatives to express relief at the prospect of business reopening. At the same time, they urged everyone to continue COVID-19 safety measures, including increased testing, to avoid another surge in the novel coronavirus and a return to more restrictions.
On Wednesday, the county is expected to move into the less restrictive red tier under the state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy as long as the local COVID-19 case rate doesn’t reverse its monthslong downward trend and start rising again.
That’s because California on Friday reached its goal of vaccinating 2 million residents in areas hardest hit by the virus, triggering an easing of a key data threshold that allows counties to move from the most restrictive “widespread” or purple tier to the more lenient red tier.
County residents in nine local ZIP codes qualified for priority vaccination including Salinas, Gonzales, Greenfield, Soledad, King City, San Ardo, Lockwood, San Lucas and Moss Landing.
The California Department of Public Health announced on Friday that 13 counties in the state would immediately move into the red tier, while 13 more counties including Monterey County were expected to be eligible for red tier status next week.
For some, like Monterey County, it would be the first time out of the purple tier since last summer.
If the county can remain below 10 new cases per 100,000 population when the state releases its latest COVID-19 data on Tuesday next week, the state would announce its new red tier assignment the next day and loosen restrictions, according to county health spokeswoman Karen Smith.
The county was at 7.2 cases per 100,000 population as of Tuesday, falling just short of qualifying for red tier status under the original state threshold of 7, and is being
credited with being below the 10 case rate benchmark since last week so will clear the two-week waiting period by next week.
Both its overall and health “equity” test positivity rates fell below the threshold for moving into the red tier weeks ago.
The only way for the county to miss out on moving into the red tier, or returning to the purple tier later on, is if its COVID-19 case and test positivity rates start increasing again as they did during previous surges, most recently during the winter holiday period and early this year.
Supervisor Mary Adams said moving to the red tier is a “reflection of the discipline and sacrifice the average person has made,” and celebrated the promise of more business and activity while cautioning about the risks of not continuing to get tested, continue safety measures including mask-wearing and social distancing, and getting vaccinated.
“I am particularly delighted to see us get back to business safely,” Adams said. “Employees have been hungering to get back to work. Restaurants, hotels and special venues like the (Monterey Bay) Aquarium are ready to open and serve residents and visitors alike. So many businesses have shuttered and my hope is moving to the red tier is Step 1 to rebuilding our economy and our society in general.
“We have all worked so hard to get to the red tier and we can not slip backward.”
Monterey County Hospitality Association spokesman Gary Cursio said “most” of the association’s members are “cautiously optimistic.”
“They can gear up within a few days,” Cursio said. “Our biggest concern is a surge that would close us down again. The fix? Test, test, test, (and) keep testing.”
Supervisor Chris Lopez said the county can’t lose sight of the state’s goal to vaccinate a total of 4 million people in the hardesthit areas, which would further relax thresholds for moving into the even less restrictive orange and yellow tiers, allowing more business and activity, and then out of the tier system entirely.
“Our county and state need to continue to focus on the equitable distribution (of the vaccine) to communities hardest hit by COVID-19, the only way out of this pandemic is together,” Lopez said. “I am excited with the progress we have made and are making, and I am hopeful that we won’t be going back, but we all must continue to be responsible about our choices.”
In addition to indoor dining, theaters, museums, zoos and aquariums would be able to reopen at 25% capacity and indoor gyms at 10% capacity. The red tier allows all shopping malls and retail stores to expand to 50% capacity indoors. Indoor gatherings are still “strongly discouraged” in the red tier, but allowed with a maximum of three households with specific modifications.
Starting Saturday, breweries and distilleries are allowed to reopen outdoors with limits whether their county is in the purple or red tier, but bars must remain closed even in the red tier. Wineries and tasting rooms are already allowed to operate outdoors.