LAKE COUNTY— The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has confirmed their expectation Lake County will be among 13 new counties to advance to the Red Tier Tuesday, “based on current data and projections.” County officials stated via a press release Friday.
Assuming these projections hold, enhanced availability of activities, including some indoor business activities, will be effective as of Wednesday, March 17, according to county officials.
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced that 2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to Californians in some of the state’s hardest-hit communities, increasing immunity where the state’s transmission rates and disease burden have been the highest during the pandemic. With this equity metric met, and because vaccines slow the spread of disease and serious illness, the previously announced update to the Blueprint for a Safer Economy to account for progress with vaccine administration goes into effect.
After reassessment using new thresholds, 13 counties will move to a less restrictive tier, from Purple (widespread) to Red (substantial): Amador, Colusa, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Mendocino, Mono, Orange, Placer, San Benito, San Bernardino, Siskiyou, Sonoma and Tuolumne. Twenty-one counties will remain in the Purple (widespread) Tier, 33 will be in the Red (substantial) Tier, three remain in the Orange (moderate) Tier and one remains in the Yellow (minimal) Tier. These changes will take effect on Sunday, March 14.
On Tuesday, officials said they also expect Sacramento, San Diego and 11 additional counties (Kings, Lake, Monterey, Riverside, San Joaquin, Santa Barbara, Sutter, Tehama, Tulare, Ventura and Yuba) to shift from Purple to Red based on current data and projections. These tier adjustments will be assigned on Tuesday and take effect on Wednesday. There is potential for additional counties to move tiers next week based on next week’s Blueprint tier assessment and assignment. Going forward, the Purple Tier threshold is greater than 10 cases per 100,000 people.
“California is doubling down on its mission to keep equity a top priority as we continue to get COVID-19 doses into the arms of all Californians as safely and quickly as possible,” said Dr. Mark Ghaly, Secretary of California’s Health and Human Services Agency. “Focusing on the individuals who have been hardest hit by this pandemic is the right thing to do and also ensures we are having the greatest impact in reducing transmission, protecting our health care delivery system and saving lives.”
On March 4, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that the state had set aside 40 percent of vaccine doses for the hardest-hit communities and established an equity metric to increase vaccinations in those communities. Doing so recognizes that the pandemic did not affect California communities equally. Forty percent of COVID cases and deaths have occurred in the lowest quartile of the Healthy Places Index (HPI), which provides overall scores and data that predict life expectancy and compares community conditions that shape health across the state.
“While we have reached a milestone today, we still have a lot of work ahead of us to help ensure we can put an end to this pandemic,” said Tomás Aragón, CDPH Director and State Public Health Officer. “We must all do our part by getting vaccinated as soon as it’s our turn and continue to wear masks and practice physical distancing to keep our communities safe.”
The Blueprint will be updated again when 4 million doses have been administered in the vaccine equity quartile.
What does the change mean for Lake County?
According to Dr. Gary Pace, Lake County’s case rate was 11/100,000 on March 2, and 9/100,000 Tuesday. “Yesterday, we reached 7.5 cases/100,000,” said Pace. The activities permitted under the Red Tier include:
- In-person instruction for grades 7-12 (most Lake County schools in this category are expected to move to Hybrid models with some on-site instruction the Monday following our advancement to the Red Tier)
- Indoor dining, movie theaters and museums at 25% capacity
- Indoor gyms at 10% capacity.
Also, the State announced yesterday Breweries, Wineries and Distilleries that do not serve meals can reopen for outdoor service, only (in the Red and Purple Tiers) as of tomorrow, March 13. Reservations are required. Customers can be served for 90 minutes, and final service time must be 8 pm.
Guidance: https://files.covid19.ca.gov/pdf/guidance-wineries–en.pdf
Checklist: https://files.covid19.ca.gov/pdf/checklist-wineries–en.pdf
All California Department Public Health (CDPH) Guidance documents are collected at: https://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/cid/dcdc/pages/guidance.aspx.
Vaccine distribution update
Pace added county health officials expect to receive 2,000-3,000 doses in each of the next few weeks. He added that over 10,000 Lake County residents have received at least one dose, per State data, and this does not fully include the 1,500+ doses administered by Lake County Tribal Health Consortium, for example.
For next week, appointments will still be scheduled at http://health.co.lake.ca.us/Coronavirus/Vaccines.htm. Links for March 15 and 16 are available now. People with qualifying medical conditions are eligible as of Monday. A list of eligible conditions and CDPH’s most current detailed eligibility Guidance are available at these links:
https://covid19.ca.gov/vaccines/
https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/COVID-19/VaccineAllocationGuidelines.aspx
Changes to clinic schedule coming March 22
Monday, March 22, the Health Department will switch to one clinic day in Lakeport and three days in Clearlake. More detail on this will be announced next week.
FAQ: What happens to ‘extra doses” at the end of vaccine clinic days?
Unfilled appointments do not mean extra doses are available; we bring only doses sufficient to cover scheduled appointments. Occasionally, we have the remainder of one opened vial at the end of the day. We have always contacted people from a waiting list (e.g. someone in a previously served tier that initially chose not to be vaccinated) to use these doses. None are wasted.
Looking ahead: My Turn platform to come standard statewide
The State with soon require all Counties use their MyTurn appointment scheduling system. At the appropriate timing, we will provide detailed instructions for Lake County residents. For those interested in looking ahead, this Press Release from the California Department of Public Health has valuable information:
https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/OPA/Pages/NR21-066.aspx
Anyone interested can click on a currently red County at this link, for a full summary of activities available in the Red Tier:
https://covid19.ca.gov/safer-economy/
A full grid of services eligible by Tier (Updated to reflect expanded Red Tier) is also available here: https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/CDPH%20Document%20Library/COVID-19/Dimmer-Framework-September_2020.pdf
