Updated state metrics show a move to orange tier

SANTA CRUZ >> Santa Cruz County’s adjusted case rate, positivity rate and health equity quartile positivity rate met orange and even yellow tier requirements Tuesday, signaling that the county’s anticipated move to the orange tier next week.

The county must have at least two consecutive weeks with the three most important measurements in the state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy framework falling into the lower tier before it can drop down. For the orange tier, the county’s adjusted case rate must be between 1 and 3.9 daily new cases per 100,000 residents, 2% to 4.9% testing positivity rate for the entire county and less than 5.3% testing positivity for the health equity quartile specifically. As of the last seven-day period, the county’s adjusted case rate was 3.4 daily new cases per 100,000 residents. Its positivity rate was 1.2% and its health equity quartile positivity rate was 2.5%.

Because the county has been in the red tier since March 10, and it has met the required consecutive week standard, it will exit the red tier and enter the orange tier as predicted March 31. In the orange tier, some indoor business operations are open with modifications. Smaller amusement parks, such as the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, can open at 25% or 500 people (whichever is fewer) with outdoor attractions and in-county visitors only. The Beach Boardwalk has not yet announced opening plans.

Other entertainment venues such as aquariums and museums can open in the orange tier at 50% capacity

BY THE NUMBERS

Total cases: 15,240

Active cases: 211

Recoveries: 14,799

Deaths: 197

Current ICU hospitalizations: 1 Current hospitalizations: 4 Open ICU beds: 9

Negative tests: 121,337 indoors. Bowling alleys can open indoors with modifications at 25% capacity. Indoor concert venues and convention centers remain closed.

To learn more about the Blueprint for a Safer Economy framework, visit covid19. ca.gov/safer-economy.