2 counties in line for more reopenings

San Mateo, Alameda move up to state’s less-restrictive red tier

As coronavirus case rates continued falling in most of California, San Mateo and Alameda counties moved to the next level in the state’s phased coronavirus recovery plan Tuesday, clearing the way for restaurants, gyms and other businesses to bring their patrons back inside.

The two joined six other Bay Area counties on the state’s second or red tier for reopening, thanks to their recent success in reducing new case rates, leaving only Contra Costa and Sonoma counties in the most restrictive purple tier.

But while San Mateo County jumped at the chance to ease restrictions, Alameda County officials said they’d take a more cautious approach to reopening. Like Santa Clara and San Francisco counties — which have been in the red tier for weeks — they said they’d wait

to loosen shelter-in-place rules, raising the angst of business owners struggling to survive.

The discrepancy, which highlights the tricky contradictions of pandemic recovery, comes as California marks coronavirus milestones both good and bad. While the state hit a new low COVID-19 test positivity rate of 2.8% this week — the first time that marker has dropped below 3% — California also surpassed 15,000 deaths from the virus.

At the same time, coronavirus deaths in the U.S. topped 200,000, and cases in Europe are increasing again — evidence of a dreaded “second wave.”

Even so, state officials on Tuesday allowed nail salons — which previously had been considered higher risk — to reopen across California,

pending guidance from individual counties.

“We’re seeing steady progress,” California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said. “I think that should be hopefully a proof point to many of the business owners, that they and the rest of our community are doing the right things to get transmission down.”

San Mateo County on Tuesday said restaurants, movie theaters and places of worship now can operate indoors at 25% capacity or 100 people, whichever is fewer. Gyms and fitness centers can operate indoors at 10% capacity.

“What this means is that you — the residents of San Mateo County — have made huge sacrifices to help slow the spread of COVID-19,” County Manager Mike Callagy wrote in a news release. “We have precious few moments to celebrate in these unprecedented times. But this is something we should all be happy about now that

so many of our businesses can reopen and so many of you can get back to work.”

In Alameda County, on the other hand, officials intend to monitor their COVID metrics for the next two weeks to ensure the numbers remain stable. If they do, the county will release new reopening guidelines.

“As with all other reopenings, it will be important for Alameda County to take a measured and phased approach to avoid dramatic increases in disease transmission and reclosures,” county officials wrote in a news release.

They aren’t the only ones proceeding more slowly than required by the state. Both San Francisco and Santa Clara counties have had the state’s permission to reopen restaurants’ indoor dining rooms but haven’t yet done so. San Francisco officials said they’ll take that step at the end of the month at the earliest.

In Santa Clara County, restaurant owners and workers called into the Board of Supervisors meeting en masse Tuesday, begging for indoor dining to be resume.

Dan McCranie, owner of the Ladera Grill in Morgan Hill, said his business loses around $45,000 per month even with the “godsend” of outdoor dining. And with colder weather ahead, he’s worried about having to lay off more employees.

“We simply need to be allowed to safely service our customers indoors,” McCranie said.

Santa Clara County is in tier two of the state’s COVID reopening plan, along with Marin, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Napa — and as of Tuesday, San Mateo, Alameda and Solano counties. Tier two indicates a “substantial” risk of COVID-19 and allows some indoor services to resume at reduced capacity. Counties move into the second tier when they have a new case rate

of between four and seven infections per 100,000 residents, and a testing positivity rate between 5% and 8%. The state bases tier movements on data that’s two weeks old.

Nine counties throughout the state progressed to a higher tier Tuesday.

Ghaly has warned in the past that a county may also move backward to a lower tier if infection rates climb. But despite concern over an uptick in COVID-19 cases in San Diego County, following an outbreak at San Diego State University, Ghaly said the county will remain in tier two for now.

Rick Mitchell, owner of Luka’s Taproom & Lounge in Oakland’s Uptown neighborhood, is ambivalent about bringing his business back inside, and said he respects Alameda County officials’ decision to wait.

“In theory, yeah, we long for the day when we can reopen,” he said. “But we will probably put it off for as long as possible right now.”

That’s because outdoor dining is going well, and Luka’s doesn’t have enough staff to serve guests both inside and outside. Mitchell set up 16 tables in the restaurant’s parking lot, which accommodate more diners than he’d be allowed to serve inside at 25% capacity.

Furthermore, Mitchell’s employees — who worry about getting exposed to the coronavirus — feel more comfortable working outside.

For now, business is OK. Revenue is about half what it was pre-pandemic, but that’s up from 25% when Luka’s could serve only takeout. But when the winter rainy season begins, business will have to move inside, Mitchell said.

“And I think there will be a lot of pressure on the county when that starts happening,” he said.