Orange County Moves To Orange Tier Wednesday: What To Expect

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — Orange County will move into the Orange Tier of the State’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy after having successfully achieved Orange Tier metrics for two weeks, officials say. The California Department of Public Health announced that effective Wednesday, Orange County businesses can move toward the Orange Tier metrics that allow them to expand capacity or resume operations altogether.

The orange tier is the second-least-restrictive tier, and the county does not intend to enact any additional restrictions on top of what the state already requires.

Residents are advised to continue seeking vaccinations and wearing masks and social distancing.

If the county is placed into the orange tier Tuesday, here are some of the services as of midnight Wednesday that can expand or reopen, with safety modifications.

• Hair salons, barbershops, personal care services.
• All retail (no capacity limit).
• Indoor dining (50 percent maximum capacity indoors or 200 people; whichever is lower).
• Indoor shopping centers (no common areas, reduced capacity food courts).
• Worship houses (50 percent maximum capacity indoors).
• Fitness centers (25 percent maximum capacity indoors).
• Indoor pools, climbing walls.
• Movie theaters (50 percent maximum capacity indoors or 200 people, whichever is lower).
• Museums, zoos, aquariums (50 percent maximum capacity indoors).
• Wineries, breweries distilleries (no reservations or 90-minute time limit requirements, and must serve a maximum 25 percent capacity indoors or 100 people, whichever is lower).
• Bars without food (open outdoors only).
• Family entertainment centers (bowling alleys OK; can open indoors at maximum 25 percent capacity for distanced activities).
• Gatherings: Indoor strongly discouraged, but allowed with masks and social distancing and a maximum of three households.

See the full list here.

Outdoor live events will also be allowed under the orange tier. The state is working on issuing more detailed guidance on this topic.

Please visit the State’s website at https://covid19.ca.gov/safer-economy, enter Orange in the County field and business or activity of interest in the Activity field and click the Get Latest Risk Levels button to view its status under the Orange Tier.

As an additional resource, residents may visit https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/CDPH%20Document%20Library/COVID-19/Dimmer-Framework-September_2020.pdf for the activities and businesses that are permitted under each Tier by the State.

Residents who have not yet received vaccination against COVID-19 are encouraged to register at www.Othena.com to be placed in the virtual waiting room and notified when it is their turn to schedule an appointment. For the latest eligibility guidelines, please visit covid-19-vaccination-distribution.

Those needing assistance with Othena may call the County of Orange’s COVID-19 Hotline 7 days a week from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. at (714) 834-2000.

For more news and information about the vaccine rollout in California, visit Patch's information hub. Also, be sure to check out How To Get The Coronavirus Vaccine In California.

Read also:

All Californians 16+ Will Be Eligible For Vaccine April 15