California releases new COVID county tiers. Where does Fresno rank on reopening scale?
Fresno County entered its second week in the second-least restrictive level of California’s color-coded program for reopening businesses and activities from broad measures aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19.
Data released Tuesday by the state Department of Public Health showed Fresno County, as well as neighboring Kings, Mariposa and Tulare counties, all maintained their places in orange Tier 3 under the Blueprint for a Safer Economy. There was also no change for Madera and Merced counties, both remaining in red Tier 2.
The red tier indicates that “substantial” transmission of the novel coronavirus is continuing in a county, based on the rate at which new daily cases of COVID-19 are arising and the percentage of people tested for the virus for whom results come back positive. Orange Tier 3 denotes “moderate” spread of the virus in a county.
The differences in what can be open, and to what extent, are significant between the red and orange tiers. In the red tier, restaurants can open their dining rooms to serve customers, but only at 25% of capacity. Movie theaters, museums and some other indoor activities are also limited to 25% of capacity, while fitness clubs and gyms are limited to 10% of capacity.
In the orange tier, restaurants, movie theaters and museums can expand to 50% of their capacity, while gyms can be open at up to 25% of capacity.
Restrictions are also loosened in the orange tier for such activities as private gatherings, private events, family entertainment centers and outdoor live events such as sports or concerts.
Case rates and testing positivity for Valley counties that formed the basis for Tuesday’s tier assignments cover the week ending April 17.
For that week, Fresno County recorded an average of 4.9 new confirmed coronavirus cases per 100,000 residents. That’s down from 5.3 daily cases a week earlier, and remains below the orange-tier ceiling of six cases per day. Among residents who were tested for coronavirus during the week, 2.5% tested positive for the virus, down from 2.9% the prior week, and safely below the 5% threshold to stay in the orange tier.
But neither the case rate nor testing positivity are low enough yet to earn Fresno County a place in the state’s least-restrictive level, yellow Tier 4, representing minimal spread of the virus in the county.
In neighboring counties, Tuesday data shows:
- Kings County, in orange Tier 3: The rate of new daily cases per 100,000 residents more than doubled, rising to 4.4 per 100,000 residents compared to 2.1 cases per day the previous week. Testing positivity also rose, from 0.7% last week to 1.4% this week.
- Madera County, in red Tier 2: 6.3 daily new cases per 100,000 residents, down from 8.7 a week earlier. Testing positivity was down by a full percentage point, to 3.4% compared to 4.4% the prior week.
- Mariposa County, in orange Tier 3: The rate of new cases lurched upward from fewer than 1 per 100,000 last week to 4.8 in this week’s assessment. Testing positivity fell slightly, from 1.6% last week to 1.4% this week.
- Merced County, in red Tier 2: The rate of new cases per day remained unchanged at 8 per 100,000 residents. The testing positivity rate was down slightly to 3.5%, compared to 3.6% a week ago.
- Tulare County, in orange Tier 3: The rate of new cases per day remained unchanged at 2.9 per 100,000 residents, while the testing positivity rate dropped slightly from 1.5% last week to 1.2% this week.
Across California, there are no counties remaining in purple Tier 1, the most restrictive level of the state blueprint. Thirteen counties are in red Tier 2, 41 in orange Tier 3, and four counties in yellow Tier 4.
If vaccine supplies remain stable and Cailifornia does not experience an increase in cases or hospitalizations, Gov. Gavin Newsom has said the blueprint tiers will be removed June 15, permitting most types of activities to resume as long as modifications such as face coverings and physical distancing are practiced indoors.
Health-safety guidance is expected to be developed for various industry and activity segments to replace the blueprint’s tier restrictions.
The Valley’s latest numbers
The public health departments for both the state of California and Fresno County reported 38 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday. That’s in addition to almost 200 cases that were acknowledged on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, pushing to 101,099 the number of Fresno County residents who have been infected with the coronavirus since March 2020.
Five deaths attributed to COVID-19 were reported on Saturday, and no additional fatalities have been reported since. To date, 1,662 residents have lost their lives to the virus and the respiratory disease it causes.
Through Monday night, the state Department of Public Health reports that about just over 36% of the county’s 1.03 million residents have had at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine. About one out of every four people in the county are now “fully vaccinated,” having received either both shots of the two-dose regimen for the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or the single-shot Janssen/Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Fresno County health leaders have a goal of getting at least 60% of residents vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of the summer.
Statewide, almost 45% of residents have gotten at least one dose of vaccine, and 28.8% are fully vaccinated.
Elsewhere around the Valley, Tuesday’s updates included:
Kings County: Three new cases Tuesday, on the heels of 26 cases reported over the previous three days; 28,850 cumulative cases to date. No additional deaths have been reported in Kings County since April 21, 246 to date. About 24% of residents have gotten at least one shot of vaccine, and 16.3% are now fully vaccinated.
Madera County: Thirteen new cases Tuesday, in addition to Monday’s report of 27 new cases since Friday, 16,268 to date. No additional deaths have been reported since April 20, for 240 to date. One-third of the county’s residents have received at least one vaccine dose, and 22.7% are fully vaccinated.
Mariposa County: Three new cases Tuesday afternoon, along with two cases over the weekend, for 441 to date. No additional deaths, seven to date. Just over 33% of Mariposa County residents have gotten at least one shot of vaccine, and 15.2% are fully vaccinated.
Merced County: 37 new early Tuesday afternoon, after Monday’s report of 52 new cases over the weekend, for 31,489 to date; no additional deaths, 454 to date. Just under 29% of residents in Merced County have received one vaccine shot, and 17.7% are fully vaccinated.
Tulare County: 32 new cases Tuesday, in addition to 22 cases reported over Saturday, Sunday and Monday, for 49,547 to date; one additional death, 834 to date. Almost 31% of Tulare County’s residents have gotten at least one dose of vaccine, and 22.5% are fully vaccinated.
Since the first local cases of coronavirus surfaced in early March 2020 in the global pandemic, almost 221,700 confirmed cases of COVID-19 have arisen among Valley residents; of that number, 3,443 have died.
This story was originally published April 27, 2021 at 12:25 PM.
