When Will Santa Cruz County Move Into The Orange Tier?

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CA — Santa Cruz County will almost certainly move to the less-strict orange tier next week, meaning more services could reopen and expand indoors, with safety modifications.

It's "more a question of when," not if, the county moves into the orange tier of the state's four-tiered, color-coded COVID-19 risk assessment system, which indicates moderate risk, Dr. Gail Newel said in a Thursday afternoon news conference. The orange tier is the second-least-restrictive tier.

The county does not intend to enact any additional restrictions on top of what the state already requires.

Santa Cruz County's news conference came on the heels of a bombshell announcement from Gov. Gavin Newsom: All Californians 16 and older will be eligible to sign up for a COVID-19 vaccine appointment as of April 15. Everyone 50 and older will be eligible beginning April 1, and all family members accompanying currently eligible people to vaccine appointments can also receive a vaccine, no questions asked, Newsom said.

Vaccine eligibility is slated to expand as the state projects it will receive double the vaccine supply by mid-April and triple the supply by mid-June, said Dr. David Ghilarducci, county emergency medical services director. Vaccine demand still appears to be outpacing supply in Santa Cruz County.

Read: All Californians 16+ Will Be Eligible For Vaccine April 15

Santa Cruz County intends eventually to triple its vaccination capacity as it looks to receive more supply, Ghilarducci said. That could mean adding additional open days to the mass vaccination site at the county fairgrounds and expanding existing sites. Some local federally qualified health centers are starting to reach capacity limits.

There is no evidence of vaccine hesitancy yet in Santa Cruz County, though that will likely change as more people continue to get vaccinated, Ghilarducci said.

More than a third of the county's population 16 and older has received an initial dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, county spokesperson Jason Hoppin said.

Newel urged all people who are currently eligible to get vaccinated to do so, as there will be a lot more competition for vaccination appointment slots when April 1 rolls around.

Ghilarducci reminded the public that the county considers all three currently available COVID-19 vaccines to be equally effective.

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, Newel said.

There were nearly 15,300 COVID-19 cases reported in Santa Cruz County as of Thursday, including 200 active known cases, and 200 deaths linked to the coronavirus.

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.