Will Santa Cruz County Move To The Red Tier Next Week?

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CA — Santa Cruz County could move into the less-strict red tier as soon as next Wednesday, if current COVID-19 metrics can at least hold steady.

Counties can enter the red tier if they meet the following standards for two consecutive weeks:

• 4 to 7 daily new cases per 100,000 people (seven-day average, with a seven-day lag)
• 5-8% testing positivity rate in the entire county (seven-day average)
• 5.3-8% testing positivity rate in communities most likely to be hit hardest (health equity metric)

Here's how Santa Cruz County compares to those metrics:

• 6.5 daily new cases per 100,000 people: meets red tier standard
• 2.9% testing positivity rate in the entire county: meets orange tier standard
• 5.3% testing positivity rate in neighborhoods most likely to be hit hardest (health equity metric): on the cusp of the orange tier standard

If all these criteria can meet at least the red tier standards for the next week, Santa Cruz County will get the all-clear Tuesday to move into the red tier Wednesday, said county spokesperson Jason Hoppin in an email.

In the Bay Area, Marin and San Mateo counties were allowed to move into the less-strict red tier last week, while Napa, San Francisco and Santa Clara counties moved into the red tier Tuesday. Central Coast county San Luis Obispo also moved to the red tier Tuesday.

The seven counties that moved out of the state's widespread, purple tier and into the substantial, red tier on Tuesday were able to show a reduced positivity rate between 5-8 percent for two weeks in a row.

County public health officials will still have the option of enacting stricter restrictions than the state requires whenever Santa Cruz County moves into the red tier. Santa Cruz County does not anticipate doing so, however.

The state allows the following businesses and services to open indoors in red tier, with safety modifications in place:

• shopping centers (50 percent capacity; closed common areas and reduced-capacity food courts)
• indoor dining (25 percent capacity)
• fitness centers (10 percent capacity)
• places of worship (25 percent capacity or 100 people — whichever is fewer)
• nail salons
• massage facilities
• museums (25 percent capacity)
• zoos (25 percent capacity)
• aquariums (25 percent capacity)
• movie theaters (25 percent capacity or 100 people — whichever is fewer)

Santa Cruz County has reported 14,700 COVID-19 cases as of Tuesday, with more than 180 deaths linked to the virus. More than 36,700 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been distributed.

— Patch editor Kat Schuster contributed to this report