Tag Archives: Re-opening

COVID-19 tier assignments, Re-opening, Solano County CA, Solano County Health Department, Solano County Health Officer Bela Matyas

Solano County moves to orange tier, finally leaves red behind

Solano County moving into orange tier

Vallejo Times-Herald, by Thomas Gase & Nick Sestanovich, June 1, 2021

This summer is looking to be less restrictive than last, as the state of California announced Tuesday that Solano County will be moving into the orange tier of the state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy.

The blueprint establishes tiers for businesses and other entities to reopen following last year’s shutdowns as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The state is on track to remove the tiers entirely starting June 15, effectively removing nearly all restrictions for businesses.

Solano County has been in the red tier since March, having previously been in the most restrictive purple tier for four months. The county had previous been in the red tier from September to November.

Under this reopening:

  • Restaurants are now allowed to serve meals indoors at 50 percent capacity or a maximum of 200 people, whichever is fewer. This also applies to wineries, breweries and distilleries that serve meals.
  • Breweries, wineries and distilleries that do not serve meals may open indoors with modifications, including 25 percent capacity indoors or a maximum of 100 people, whichever is fewer.
  • Retailers may operate indoors with modifications.
  • Movie theaters and places of worship may operate indoors at 50 percent capacity or a maximum of 200 people, whichever is fewer.
  • Gyms, health club and yoga studios can operate indoors at 25 percent capacity.
  • Graduation ceremonies can be held outdoors at 33 percent capacity with assigned seating and additional modifications.

The reason for the move to the orange tier was a continuing decrease in cases to below six per 100,000, low hospitalizations and more than 225,000 residents receiving at least one vaccine dose, according to a Solano County news release.

Dr. Bela Matyas, Solano’s public health officer, said the county qualified for the orange tier based on a significant decrease in cases per day, positivity rates and its health equity metric, which measures positivity rates in disproportionately impacted areas. Hospitalizations have also been low as of late.

Vaccinations were also up, with 64 percent of eligible residents ages 16 and older and 62 percent of residents ages 12 and older receiving the COVID-19 vaccine as of Friday, Matyas said.

When the state lifts its restrictions June 15, Matyas said Solano would lift all of its requirements although health officials will still recommend businesses retain precautions that are easy to retain if they choose to do so, such as physical barriers at restaurants or hand sanitizer dispensers.

“Things that have involved investments already made, I would think would be easy to maintain,” he said.

Additionally, Matyas said the California Division of Occupational and Safety Hazards (Cal/OSHA) may continue to require certain precautions of its employers.

Armando Gomez, a manager at Napoli Pizzeria & Italian Food in Vallejo, was pleased for the change.

“Personally, I’m excited,” Gomez said. “We get to fill up some more tables that were empty. We had four tables inside and now we can do about eight. We’ve managed to hang on there during this pandemic but this will also help.”

Solano County Public Health Administrator Jayleen Richards said there were some other benefits about moving up to the orange tier, even if the removal of tiers is just two weeks away.

“Yes we are pleased we are able to open up more and although the tiers will be gone soon we don’t view this as too little, too late,” Richards said. “This coming week we have a few graduations and some of them will be able to benefit with larger size restrictions. I know Vacaville was planning on doing just one ceremony instead of two if they could get the necessary requirements.”

Benicia, Vallejo and Jesse Bethel high schools had previously planned to do two ceremonies. The schools may be able to do one now depending on it of its maximum capacity requirements.

Richards said there were a few reasons for the upgrade in tiers.

“I believe it’s just more and more people getting vaccinated,” Richards said. “We were also expecting an increase in COVID-19 cases after Mother’s Day and it wasn’t that bad. It seems everyone was doing a good job and social distancing during that weekend. However, some places are still at a higher risk and will need to continue to use precautions.”

Two other Bay Area counties in the orange tier — Napa and Alameda — could be eligible to move to the yellow tier by next Tuesday. That would leave Sonoma, Solano and Contra Costa counties as the only remaining orange tier counties in the region.

Statewide, 48 percent of Californians live in yellow tier counties. And only four counties — Del Norte, Shasta, Yuba and Stanislaus — remain in the red tier indicating a “substantial” COVID-19 spread. There are no counties in the most restrictive purple tier.

For more information, go to Solanocounty.com/depts/ph/coronavirus.asp.

Bay Area News Group contributed to this story.

COVID-19 tier assignments, Re-opening, Solano County CA, Solano County Health Department, Solano County Health Officer Bela Matyas

State moves Solano County into orange tier

Solano County moves into the less restrictive Orange Tier of the State’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy, effective June 2

Press Release by Solano County, June 1, 2021

SOLANO COUNTY – The State of California announced today that Solano County will move from the Red Tier into the less restrictive Orange Tier of the Blueprint for a Safer Economy effective Wednesday, June 2, 2021. The California tier-based metrics have helped provide a framework for reopening businesses, schools and other community venues.

In the last two weeks, Solano County has seen a continued decline in case rate to below 6 per 100,000 to qualify for the orange tier. COVID-19 related hospitalizations remain low, and 225,477 county residents have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

“We are seeing a substantial decrease in the spread of COVID-19 in our community, therefore enabling us to move down to the next tier and expanding capacity for our businesses,” said Bela T. Matyas, M.D., M.P.H., Solano County Health Officer.  “While we are nearing the end of the pandemic, we continue to encourage our community members to get vaccinated to protect themselves from severe illness and death. Solano Public Health remains dedicated to eliminating barriers to vaccinate the community against COVID-19 by focusing on providing pop-up clinics – meeting people where they are.”

MOVING FROM THE RED TIER INTO THE ORANGE TIER ALLOWS:

  • Restaurants, including wineries, breweries and distilleries that serve meals, can operate indoors with 50 percent capacity or a maximum of 200 people, whichever is fewer
  • Breweries, wineries, and distilleries that do not serve meals may open indoors with modifications, including 25 percent capacity indoors, or 100 people, whichever is fewer
  • Retail establishments can operate indoors with modifications
  • Movie theaters and places of worship can operate indoors with 50 percent capacity or a maximum of 200 people, whichever is fewer
  • Gyms and health clubs, including yoga studios, can operate indoors with 25 percent capacity
  • Graduation and commencement ceremonies can be held outdoors at 33 percent capacity with assigned seating and other modifications

COVID-19 INFORMATION
For more information on COVID-19, visit the following websites, including:

  1. Resources for industry guidance – https://Covid19.Ca.Gov/Safer-Economy/
  2. COVID-19 vaccine information in Solano County – www.SolanoCounty.com/CovidVaccine
  3. COVID-19 statistics, including cases and vaccinations – www.SolanoCounty.com/COVID19
  4. Vaccine clinics throughout the State of California – https://MyTurn.Ca.Gov
  5. Solano County Public Health Facebook – www.Facebook.com/SolanoCountyPH
California Department of Public Health, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Coronavirus, Covid 19, COVID-19 tier assignments, Re-opening

SF Chron: California confirms state will reopen June 15 – no more social distancing, capacity limits

Bartender Ramon Piñon, left, mixes a drink for John Lister at Sea Star Bar, which reopened for business for several days in San Francisco on May 9 with capacity limits. The state will allow bars and other businesses to lift all restrictions June 15.
Bartender Ramon Piñon, left, mixes a drink for John Lister at Sea Star Bar, which reopened for business for several days in San Francisco on May 9 with capacity limits. The state will allow bars and other businesses to lift all restrictions June 15. Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle, by Erin Allday, May 21, 2021

California will definitely reopen on June 15 and almost all public health restrictions will be lifted, state officials said Friday, releasing the first highly anticipated details of what post-pandemic life will look like.

Overnight, the state will do away with all capacity limits and other social distancing requirements for businesses and other activities. Gatherings of all sizes will be allowed. And everything from buffet service to open bars will be able to resume in public spaces and private events.

A handful of restrictions will remain in place — most notably some masking rules, primarily for people who aren’t yet vaccinated. Counties may also maintain some local restrictions. But for the most part, Californians will be able to pick up where they left off last March, when the first orders shutting down large gatherings were issued.

“We have been for weeks forecasting that something very important happens on June 15 in California,” said Dr. Mark Ghaly, secretary of California Health and Human Services, in a news briefing Friday. “The big message today is we’re at a place with this pandemic where the requirements of the past are no longer needed for the foreseeable future.”

Friday’s announcement was the first confirmation from the state that the June 15 reopening date is a sure thing. The state will retire its color-coded public health blueprint, instituted last August, which ordered varying levels of restrictions based on how much virus was spreading in a county.

Ditching the blueprint and lifting almost all public health restrictions was dependent on the state improving access to vaccines for all residents and keeping COVID-19 hospitalizations low, and California is easily meeting both of those metrics, Ghaly said. Daily cases and deaths are at or near record lows statewide; last week, the Bay Area reported four COVID-19 deaths a day on average, the lowest in the region since the first fatalities last March.

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the planned reopening date in April, but since then details about what would actually happen were spare. County and business leaders increasingly had said they were having a hard time planning for that date without better understanding of what health restrictions might remain in place.

It turns out, almost none of them.

Masks are one exception. Face coverings will still be required for unvaccinated people, and for everyone in certain situations including in health care settings and on public transit. But the bulk of the mask mandate will lift on June 15 along with everything else.

The other notable restriction is for so-called mega indoor events — gatherings of more than 5,000 people, which would include Warriors games and large concerts. Organizers will be required to confirm that attendees are vaccinated or have a negative coronavirus test. Organizers of outdoor events with more than 10,000 people will be advised, but not required, to do the same.

“All limits on physical distancing, on capacity, restrictions around eating and drinking, open bars and buffets — will go away,” said Dee Myers, director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development. “This will allow people holding conventions or weddings or selling out sporting events to advertise or market. Cultural events — all of those will be allowed, with certainty.”

There remains some uncertainty around workplace safety rules that are overseen by California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health standards board, or Cal/OSHA. The board on Thursday delayed a vote on new rules that would end social distancing and masking requirements for vaccinated employees.

Most Bay Area counties have said they plan to align with the state reopening plan on June 15. But some county public health leaders have expressed reservations about fully reopening in just three weeks, and suggested that they may wait a little longer to allow very large gatherings, for example.

San Francisco public health officials said in a statement Friday that they were reviewing the state guidance and would say next week whether they planned to fully align with it.

San Mateo County plans to adopt the state guidance, but health officials remain wary of the potential for outbreaks among unvaccinated residents, said Dr. Curtis Chan, deputy director of public health. He said the county would encourage everyone to continue wearing masks in many indoor public spaces — such as grocery and retail stores — through the summer so that more people have a chance to be fully vaccinated. The county won’t make it a requirement, though.

“The June 15 date works for many individuals, particularly those who have been vaccinated. From a broader public health and a broader community perspective, we have concerns about people who have faced barriers to getting vaccinated,” Chan said. “Every couple weeks makes a big difference. So June 15 may almost be enough time, but for sure July 15 or Aug. 15 will be definitely enough time to get everyone vaccinated. Let’s make sure all our communities can cross that finish line and be protected.”

Ghaly acknowledged Friday that lifting restrictions would leave unvaccinated residents vulnerable to infection and “concerning outcomes.”

“We’ll be watching that very closely,” he said. “It’s not that we won’t see some isolated outbreaks, but we do have the tools to be able to manage that, to be able to keep those outbreaks to a minimum and keep any spread (of disease) pretty contained.”

Ghaly said he hoped that with the opening date now confirmed, and just three and a half weeks away, people who have been hesitating to get vaccinated consider getting shots right away. County public health officials similarly have said that they are redoubling efforts over the next month to increase vaccine uptake in communities that have lagged behind state averages.

State officials also confirmed Friday that they do not plan to issue or require vaccine passports, though they acknowledged that some businesses and event organizers may use them. The state will offer guidelines for how to implement vaccine passports in a way that protects people’s privacy and ensures equity, Ghaly said.

Coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths have plummeted in California as large portions of the population have been vaccinated. As of Friday, 48% of eligible residents — those 12 and older — were fully vaccinated, and 13.5% had received at least one shot of the two-dose Moderna or Pfizer vaccine courses.

About 1,300 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 — the fewest patients statewide since last March, when California began tracking that data.

“Over the past seven days we’ve had 260 new admissions. We wanted to be below 300 over a seven-day average and we’ve achieved that,” Ghaly said. “On both metrics — vaccinations and the state of COVID in our hospitals — we feel like we are tracking well toward meeting our goals on June 15.”

Benicia CA, Coronavirus, COVID-19 tier assignments, Fairfield CA, Re-opening, Solano County CA, Solano County Health Officer Bela Matyas, Vacaville CA, Vallejo CA

SF Chronicle: Just one Bay Area county is still stuck in the red tier. Here’s what’s holding it back

Solano County case rates and vaccination rates lagging behind other Bay Area counties

Solano County is the only Bay Area county still left in the red tier, while the rest of the Bay Area is in the less restrictive orange and yellow tiers. California Department of Public Health
San Francisco Chronicle, May 6, 2021, by Kellie Hwang

In recent months, coronavirus case rates have plummeted in much of the Bay Area. Most of the region’s counties are now in California’s “moderate” orange reopening tier, which allows for loosened restrictions, and San Francisco moved to the least restrictive yellow tier on Tuesday.

But Solano County, which has continued to struggle with higher case rates than the rest of the Bay Area, is still stuck in the red tier — the second-most-restrictive in the four-tier system.

According to the latest data from the state for the week ending April 24, Solano reported 8.8 new daily coronavirus cases per 100,000 people, and an adjusted case rate of 8.3, which takes into account a county’s testing efforts.

The metrics that the state considers for tier assignment, though, are fairly low, with a positive test rate of 2.7% and a health equity positive test rate of 2.1%. From April 28 to May 4, the average daily case rate for the county was 10 per 100,000, while the Bay Area’s overall average daily case rate was 5.

Dr. Bela Matyas, health officer for the county, said officials know the main reason for the persistently higher case rates.

“People who are not vaccinated are getting together with friends and family and not social distancing,” he said. “It’s been a problem since the very beginning.”

He said the stubborn case rates over the past couple of months can be attributed to younger individuals. The county’s COVID-19 dashboard shows 55% of cases in the 18 to 49 age group, 21% in residents 50 to 64, and 12% in individuals 65 and older. The 18 to 49 age group also has a lower vaccination rate, with 46% having received at least one dose compared to 68% in people 50 to 64 and 79% in residents 65 to 74.

“They are engaging in activities on the presumption that the pandemic is under control or behind us,” Matyas said.

Part of it could be frustration with the pandemic, and part of it could be the “sense they will not have a bad outcome” if they become infected, he said.

Matyas added that it’s hard to compare Solano County to much of the Bay Area when it comes to the pandemic. He called it a “bridge community between the two different cultures” of the Bay Area and the Central Valley.

Vaccination rates are lower than most other Bay Area counties, and vaccine hesitancy is also an issue.

“Very liberal counties have very high rates of vaccination, and traditionally conservative counties have low rates of vaccination,” he said. “We’re in the middle, a blend of the two.”

Matyas said vaccination rates tend to be higher in the southern part of the county that includes Vallejo (61.5% with at least one dose) and Benicia (72.3%), and becomes more moderate and conservative moving north to Fairfield (57.5%) and Vacaville (53.1%).

According to Solano County’s vaccine dashboard, 58% of residents 16 and older have received at least one vaccine dose, while 39% are fully vaccinated. Compare that to neighboring Napa County, where 66% of residents have received at least one vaccine dose, and 47% are fully vaccinated, or Marin County, which has the Bay Area’s highest vaccination rates with 83% having received at least one dose, and 64% fully vaccinated.

“Attendance at clinics is way down” in Solano, Matyas said. “To be honest, there are people in Solano County who don’t want it, who are choosing not to be vaccinated with full knowledge of their decision.”

So will Solano be able to make it to the orange tier? Matyas said the county has been trying, and has consistently provided outreach and education.

“We’ve never been in orange, and have been in the red and purple tiers the whole time,” Matyas said. “I would love to get to the orange because businesses, services and activities are clearly being limited in the red.”

Matyas said officials have achieved the goal of providing the vaccine to those who want it, and have mostly minimized the highest risk in the community, vaccinating nearly 80% of residents 65 and older so far.

At this point, Matyas said the primary goals for the county have shifted to ensuring access to vaccines for anyone who has had trouble receiving them, and helping those who are hesitant get past their hesitancy.