Orange County barely missed the mark this week that would have started its transition to the more relaxed red tier of the state’s four-level pandemic tracking system, meaning it remains in the most most-restrictive purple tier that limits a lot of indoor activities.
Two metrics, the share of COVID-19 tests coming back positive countywide and among hard-hit neighborhoods have met red tier goals for the past two weeks.
But the third, the rate of new COVID-19 cases by population, remained just above the red tier threshold rate of 7 per 100,000, according to a state Department of Public Health update Tuesday, March 2.
The case rate has been steadily falling, it reached 7.6 per day per 100,000 residents as of Tuesday. Last week, the county’s case rate was 11.9.
All three of a county’s metrics must fall within the next tier’s range for two consecutive weeks to advance in the four-tier tracking system, which charts the three pandemic metrics to determine when and how certain businesses and public places should reopen.
If Orange County makes it to the red tier, restaurants, movie theaters and gyms, among other businesses, could welcome patrons back indoors, with masking, distancing and other modifications in place.
Orange County’s testing positivity this week moved further down the colored strata to 3.9% from 5.4% last week. Health equity also dipped to 5% from 7% last week.
It’s good news and bad news as public health officials, local politicians and a pandemic-weary public crave more relaxed pandemic rules amid slowing coronavirus spread and an expanding vaccine rollout.
Orange County has been in the purple tier since mid-November, when Gov. Gavin Newsom pulled a public health “emergency brake” and applied strict rules across California ahead of what became the pandemic’s worst surge yet. Before that, the county savored a few weeks in the red tier during a coronavirus lull last fall.
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