Substantial (red): 6 to 10 daily new cases per 100,000 residents.Widespread (purple): Counties with more than 10 daily new cases per 100,000 residents.Now that 4 million vaccine doses have been administered to those living in the "Vaccine Equity Quartile", a set of less strict metrics is being used to determine a county's tier status: (See below for details.)Īpp users: For a better experience, click here to view the full map in a new window These days, much more is allowed at limited capacity. In the early stages of the four-tier system, pretty much all non-essential business had to close in the purple tier. Purple means there is widespread COVID-19 transmission in the county. Yellow indicates minimal COVID-19 spread and allows for nearly all businesses to reopen indoor operations (as long as physical distancing and face-covering requirements are in place). The four tiers are yellow, orange, red and purple. VACCINE TRACKER: How California is doing, when you can get a coronavirus vaccine To put it simply, as California administers more vaccines to zip codes hardest hit by the pandemic, it will become a bit easier to for counties to move into less restrictive tiers. These changes come as the state considers how equitably vaccine distribution is going when deciding how much counties should be allowed to reopen. The story and map below show counties' reopening statuses and restrictions as they last stood on June 14, 2021.Ĭalifornia is loosening its tier guidelines, which is allowing more counties to start opening up. There are no more state-mandated social distancing requirements nor capacity limits. And many of today’s vaccination opponents were strong allies in making the case against widespread economic and school shutdowns.UPDATE, June 15, 12 p.m.: California has retired its color-coded county reopening tiers and entered a statewide reopening. I was an outspoken critic of lockdowns, even at the height of the pandemic. While recognizing that many individuals are at low risk for severe COVID-19 outcomes and that vaccines are not always risk-free, for most individuals the benefits of vaccination far outweigh the risk and getting the shot also helps protect friends and family. As more people get vaccinated, our communities reach higher levels of herd immunity, decreasing the likelihood that individuals will become seriously ill regardless of political ideology. Vaccines should not be a political issue. While it may be tempting to lambaste the vaccine-hesitant as ignorant or politically motivated, such rhetoric is counterproductive. However, policymakers predisposed to shutdowns frequently note that unvaccinated younger people can get and spread COVID-19 to more vulnerable elders. Vaccination rates are lower in younger age groups, which is understandable since younger people face much lower mortality risk. Olivia Kasirye recently wrote to the Sacramento Bee. The majority of cases are among those who were not vaccinated,” Sacramento County health officer Dr. “We continue to see day-to-day increases of new COVID cases. “Over 99% of the COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths we are seeing are among unvaccinated individuals,” Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said in a statement on July 12. Most observers blame the uptick on the more transmissible Delta variant hitting unvaccinated populations. Hundreds of gyms and fitness centers also closed, resulting in a reduction in physical health for many Californians.Īfter bottoming out in June, COVID-19 case rates are once again rising in California, which is making city and state leaders nervous. While some restaurants would have failed under any government policy given the reasonable reluctance of many to dine indoors or near strangers, the state’s strict lockdown made matters much worse. The last thing school-aged children need this fall is an increase in cases causing another panic that closes schools to in-person learning.Īdditionally, upwards of 30% of California restaurants permanently closed during the pandemic, eliminating hundreds of thousands of jobs. Millions of California school children received over a year of subpar remote education, crimping their learning outcomes and social development. To help avoid this disturbing prospect, Californians should encourage each other to get vaccinated. While we are now free of the state’s 17-month long COVID-19-related lockdowns, restrictions remain a real possibility again in the fall and winter. As debates continue to rage over vaccines and masking, beyond the 63,000 COVID-19 deaths suffered in the state, it is often easy to move past the other negative impacts that California’s widespread business and school closures had on kids, families and small businesses.
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