Orange County One Week Away From Yellow Tier Reopenings: Report

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — Orange County's coronavirus statistics have moved into the realm of Yellow Tier of Gov. Gavin Newsom's Blueprint for a Safer Economy, as of Tuesday. A move to the Yellow Tier would mean a reopening of bars for indoor seating and increased numbers of guests in restaurants, at sports venues, museums, theme parks, water parks, and more.

After more than one year of coronavirus shutdown and a slowly reviving economy in Orange County, the lure of the next level of openings is strong for residents. As of May 2, over 1.1 million residents have been fully vaccinated against coronavirus across all platforms, Orange County Health Care announced. The Othena system to schedule vaccinations now is offering same-day appointments, according to the website.

The yellow tier statistics include the adjusted daily case rate, which now stands at 1.8 per 100,000 residents, based upon the number of tests performed in the county, officials say.

The test positivity rate has dropped to 1 percent, and the Health Equity Quartile has reached 1.2 percent, both with a 7-day average and a 7-day lag, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency's Tuesday report.

Orange County has languished in the Orange Tier category since March 29, along with Los Angeles, though L.A. has since moved on to the elusive Yellow Tier.

Once Orange County is officially declared in the Yellow Tier of the blueprint, bars that serve only alcohol will be allowed to serve patrons indoors at 25 percent or 100 guests, whichever is the lower number. Masks will remain essential until guests are seated, according to state rules.

Also, expanded capacity will be allowed at museums, sports venues, movie theaters, and gyms.

Restaurants will be able to operate at 50 percent capacity inside, as will movie theaters.

Amusement parks will also see a rise in the number of guests, to 35 percent, though visitors will need to be California residents.

Water parks will be able to expand to 40 percent.

Those figures need to remain at or below 2 percent in each of those categories to remain in Yellow Tier proximity.

To date, there have been 254,357 residents who have fallen ill due to coronavirus since the pandemic began. Of those, 5,008 have died. No deaths were reported Tuesday. An estimated 247,324 residents have recovered from coronavirus since last year, officials say.

If Orange County reaches the Yellow Tier by next Tuesday, that will be a mere five weeks before the state of California plans to reopen fully. The stipulations remain that there be "enough vaccine supply for Californians 16 and up to be vaccinated and that hospitalization rates remain stable and low, especially among fully vaccinated Californians," according to the state's Beyond the Blueprint methodology.

The proof of vaccination remains a sticking point for many Orange County residents who speak up at every Board of Supervisors meeting.

Read: Hundreds Sign Up To Denounce Vaccine Passports At Orange County Board Of Supervisors Meeting