Newsom Announces New System for County Reopenings

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, announced a colored, four-tier system to determine the benchmarks for counties to reopen businesses during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The first tier, purple, is for counties that currently have more than seven new cases daily per 100,000 people and a positivity rate of higher than 8%. The virus is considered to be “widespread” in these counties and, in this tier, most nonessential businesses will be required to have their indoor operations closed.

Counties in the second tier, red, are those that have 4-7 new cases daily per 100,000 people and a positivity rate of 5-8%. These counties are considered to have a “substantial” outbreak of the virus and only some businesses are closed. Counties with a “moderate” spread, the orange tier, have 1-3.9 new cases daily per 100,000 people and a positivity rate between 2-4.9%. The final tier, yellow, has less than 1 new case daily per 100,000 people with a positivity rate lower than 2%. In this tier, where the virus spread is considered “minimal,” most businesses can operate their indoor operations with modifications.

NEW: California is launching a Blueprint for a Safer Economy.

It’s simple.

Your county will be assigned a color based on:
– Case rate
– Positivity rate

Your color determines how businesses can operate in your county.

Find your color & what’s open ➡️ https://t.co/xtXFwVeWc2 pic.twitter.com/fFXR7rbtU1

— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) August 28, 2020

Newsom said that counties will have to wait at least three weeks before moving to another tier. He acknowledged that the rules are “stringent,” but argued that it’s necessary to ensure that counties are “holding that criteria and data in line for an extended period of time.”

The new system will go into effect after Labor Day weekend ends. All of the hair salons and barbershops will be allowed to reopen across the state on Aug. 31; retail stores and shopping centers across the state also can resume indoor operations at 25% maximum capacity.

However, Los Angeles County won’t allow hair salons and barbershops to reopen on Aug. 31.

“All current restrictions remain in place until the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and the Board of Supervisors have an opportunity to review the suggested guidance from the State and take actions that are appropriate for our country,” the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said in a statement.

KNX 1070 reporter Claudia Peschiutta tweeted that while the county’s positivity rate has been below 8% over the past couple of weeks, the county currently has a daily case rate of 13.1 cases per 100,000 people.

“It’s going to be a while before we get to move down to Tier 2/Red,” she wrote.

LA County's avg test positivity rate has remained below 8% for more than two weeks. But the avg daily case rate for the past two weeks is 13.1/100k so it's going to be a while before we get to move down to Tier 2/Red. @KNX1070 https://t.co/rD9O1WtAYs

— Claudia Peschiutta (@ReporterClaudia) August 28, 2020