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-Editorial
After seven weeks of closures, restaurants, museums, theaters and other businesses can resume outdoor operations immediately under state guidance.
Hair salons, barbershops, nail salons, and tattoo parlors can open indoors. Hotels and other lodgings can open.
The changes are a result of California health officials’ announcement that the Regional Stay Home Order has been lifted for all regions of the state.
The state’s four-week intensive care unit bed availability projection for the Southern California region, which includes San Diego County, is expected to be above 15%, the threshold that allows regions to exit the order.
“We urged San Diegans to stay at home and most heeded our message,” said Wilma J. Wooten, M.D., M.P.H., County public health officer. “Their actions have helped to slow the spread of COVID-19, kept hospitals and health care workers from being completely overwhelmed and, most importantly, saved lives.”
The lifting of the Regional Stay Home Order means that San Diego County is now back in Tier 1, or the Purple Tier, and can return to the rules and framework of the Blueprint for a Safer Economy, the color-coded tiers that indicate which activities and businesses are open based on local case rates and test positivity percentage.
The County’s adjusted case rate is currently at 49.6 per every 100,000 residents, which is expected to be reflected on the state’s website. The rate is well above the 7.0 case rate that is required to move into the less restrictive Tier 2, or Red Tier. Fifty-four of the 58 California counties are in the strictest level or Purple Tier.
The region’s 7-day case positivity rate is 14.8%, also well above the 7% needed to move to the Red Tier.
Counties must remain in their current tier for three weeks and post case rates and testing positivity percentage in the higher tier for two weeks before moving into the less restrictive level.
Tier updates are provided weekly on Tuesdays; however, counties can choose to impose stricter rules.
Household gatherings are also now allowed, but they should be limited to no more than three households and the interactions must occur outdoors. People must also keep their distance and wear a mask. The 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew remains in effect.
“The pandemic is not over, people should continue taking the recommended precautions,” Wooten said.
County health officials continue to urge San Diegans to do the following:
- When it’s your turn, get vaccinated
- Wash your hands
- Watch your distance around others
- Wear a mask
- When sick, stay home and get tested
