Santa Cruz County Hits Snag In Advancing To Yellow Tier

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CA — Santa Cruz County will remain in the orange tier for at least two more weeks after its COVID-19 rate saw a slight increase.

The county announced Tuesday — the day on which California officials decide which counties change tiers — that it missed the mark to move into the less-restrictive yellow tier by just a tenth of a percentage point. The yellow tier is the least-restrictive tier in the state's four-tiered, color-coded COVID-19 risk assessment system.

Watsonville residents are urged to continue wearing masks and practicing social distancing. Residents are also encouraged to get a free COVID-19 vaccine and get tested if need be.

More than 237,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in Santa Cruz County as of Tuesday.

Vaccine appointments can be scheduled here; more information about vaccine appointments in Santa Cruz County can be found here. Residents ages 16 and older are eligible.

Homebound residents are asked to complete this survey as the county mounts a homebound vaccination campaign.

Until Santa Cruz County advances into the yellow tier, the following businesses and services may remain open, with safety modifications:

• Hair salons, barbershops, personal care services.
• 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.

Nearly 16,000 COVID-19 cases have been reported in Santa Cruz County, which resulted in 204 deaths.

See the full list here.

Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the number of COVID-19-related deaths reported in Santa Cruz County.