Santa Cruz County Inches Toward Red Tier

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CA — Santa Cruz County is moving closer to the red tier, which could mean fewer restrictions on public life in the near future.

Santa Cruz County is currently in the most-strict purple tier, which indicates widespread risk, of the state's four-tiered, color-coded COVID-19 risk system. The red tier is the next-best tier and indicates substantial COVID-19 risk.

The county has seen its daily COVID-19 case rate per 100,000 residents drop sharply in recent weeks.

"While we don’t want to speculate on timing, things are trending in the right direction," said county spokesperson Jason Hoppin in an email.

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

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

• 8.6 daily new cases per 100,000 people (nearing red tier standard)
• 2.9% testing positivity rate in the entire county (meets orange tier standard)
• 6.3% testing positivity rate in communities most likely to be hit hardest (meets red tier standard)

When Santa Cruz County eventually progresses into the red tier, county public health officials will have the option of enacting stricter restrictions than the state requires. The county will not likely enact additional restrictions, Hoppin said.

The state permits counties in the red tier to reopen the following businesses and services indoors, 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)