Coronavirus in California: what does it mean that California is in the Purple Tier?

Governor Gavin Newsom announced that 40 out of California’s 58 counties have been moved to a more restrictive tier in the state’s 4-tier reopening framework. Now every single county in Southern California is in the Purple tier, read on to find out what new restrictions are in place.

With covid-19 case numbers spirally out of control Governor Newson has hit the brakes hoping to slow the rising infections by implementing rollbacks for a number of reopenings, 11 counties have been moved back two tiers. The Governor announced that coronavirus cases have doubled in the last ten days, numbers not seen since March when the pandemic broke out. Cases are jumping in all age groups and demographics with a 4.6 percent increase in California’s 14-day positivity.

More rapid response to changing conditions

Newson also announced that the state had updated the terms for how counties will be assigned tiers going forward. Counties can move after just one week of data that would put them into a more restrictive tier as opposed to the previous two-week window. Businesses will now need to make adjustments within 24 hours to their safety guidelines, instead of 72 hours, of a new tier assignment.

The Governor and Health Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly will return to giving “real-time” updates instead of once-a-week updates on the state’s coronavirus response. Changes to county tier status will also be made multiple times per week as opposed to weekly.

No statewide curfew yet

The Governor did not implement a statewide curfew but said that he and health officials were studying the idea and it would depend on what data from the rest of the country showed about such measures’ efficacy. Curfew orders have been put into place in some cities across the US in an attempt to curb the surging number of cases.

California’s 4-tier reopening framework

How a county is categorized depends on the testing positivity rate and the number of new daily coronavirus cases.

Each color code has a distinct set of restrictions regarding what businesses are and are not allowed to reopen, whether they can open indoors or outdoors, and at what capacity they can operate.

For a complete list of the activity and business tiers check the California Blueprint for a Safer Economy tiers chart.

A county must stay at a level for at least three weeks and then meet the next level’s criteria for two weeks before moving to a less restrictive level. If a county’s data falls in to two different tiers, the more restrictive tier will be assigned.

Click here to find the status of activities in your county according to the California weekly tier assessment.

Purple Tier Restrictions and Guidelines