Starting Monday, myriad businesses can welcome patrons across much of the Bay Area after Gov. Gavin Newsom rolled out a new system to track counties’ prevalence of COVID-19 and guide the reopening process.
In lieu of the state’s coronavirus watchlist — which was criticized by local officials for its litany of requirements — the new system considers only the counties’ positivity rate and cases per 100,000 residents. Counties may move from purple (widespread transmission) to red (substantial) to orange (moderate) to yellow (minimal) only after spending a minimum of three weeks in each category.
About 87% of the state, along with the majority of the Bay Area, will start off in the “purple” category, meaning more than seven daily new cases per 100,000 people or a positivity rate of more than 8%.
Even so, some businesses that were previously closed may reopen under the state’s guidelines, including all retail stores, malls at 25% capacity, and hair salons and barber shops indoors. But counties reserve the right to be more restrictive, meaning that those businesses won’t necessarily reopen everywhere on Monday.
All indoor businesses must keep following social distancing and cleaning guidelines, while patrons and employees are still required to wear masks.
Statewide, California’s seven-day average for new cases is about 10.5 cases per 100,000, according to the Department of Public Health, with a 5.9% positivity rate. After a surge in cases earlier this summer, hospitalizations have dropped dramatically to about 4,205 patients as of Thursday, the lowest number since late June, while daily average deaths have slowly started to drop off since peaking in early August.
Here’s the breakdown of where each county stands.
Alameda County: Purple. County officials said Saturday that they’re still reviewing the new rules from the state and expect to provide a more thorough update next week. For now, the county provided a list of business statuses, noting that indoor malls may reopen Monday at 25% capacity and that all previously open retail must likewise limit the number of customers. Salons and barber shops are still limited to outdoors.
Contra Costa County: Purple. In line with Newsom’s guidance, the county will allow retail, hair salons and barber shops to restart indoor services starting Monday.
Marin County: Purple. Health officials said the California Department of Public Health told them the county will move into the red (substantial spread) tier in an “abbreviated timeline,” thanks to its high testing rates. In the meantime, retail, hair salons and barber shops may restart indoor services Monday.
Napa County: Red. With 6.6 cases per 100,000 and a positivity rate of 4.2%, Napa is one of two counties to be in the “substantial” category in the broader Bay Area along with San Francisco. Officials said that some indoor businesses will be allowed to reopen at limited capacity starting Monday — including gyms at 10% capacity, restaurants at 25% and retail with 50% capacity.
San Francisco County: Red. Although outdoor personal services reopened Friday and outdoor gyms are pegged to reopen on Sept. 9, Mayor London Breed said Friday that for now, the city will keep indoor hair salons, barber shops and malls closed while the city reviews Newsom’s latest guidelines. The county has 9.2 cases per 100,000 and a positivity rate of 3.1%.
San Mateo County: Purple. The county will allow retail, hair salons and barber shops to restart indoor services starting Monday.
Santa Clara County: Purple. The county will allow retail, hair salons and barber shops to restart indoor services starting Monday.
Santa Cruz County: Purple. The county will allow retail, hair salons and barber shops to restart indoor services starting Monday.
Solano County: Purple. The county will allow retail, hair salons and barber shops to restart indoor services starting Monday.
Sonoma County: Purple. Health Officer Dr. Sundari Mase said Friday that the county was in “good company” in the purple tier with the rest of the Bay Area, and that she was reviewing whether cases are associated with hair salons and barber shops. Mase promised to have an update on reopenings “by Monday.”
