Fresno reaches mark, awaits go for expanded reopening from coronavirus limits
Fresno County’s continued improvement in reducing the number of new coronavirus cases, and a shrinking percentage of people who are testing positive for the virus, have put the county on the brink of being able to reopen or expand operations at a greater number of businesses as soon as next week.
On Tuesday, under the state’s color-coded “Blueprint for a Safer Economy,” the California Department of Public Health kept Fresno County assigned to the “purple” Tier 1, the most restrictive of four levels that limit the types of businesses that can be reopened and at what capacity they can operate.
But for the first time, Fresno County this week met the key criteria set forth by the state for moving out of the purple tier denoting “widespread” risk for COVID-19 spread and into Tier 2, the “red” tier that represents “substantial” risk of transmission.
Under the tier system, a county must meet the requirements for its new tier for two weeks before it can formally be promoted to the less restrictive level. If Fresno County’s positive trend on cases and testing hold up, the state could advance the county to red Tier 2 on Sept. 29.
“That evening, you can make a reservation at your favorite restaurant, which will be allowed to have indoor dining at up to 25% capacity,” said Dr. Rais Vohra, Fresno County’s interim health officer, in comments to reporters Tuesday afternoon.
But, he cautioned, the move from one tier to another is a gradual process of reopening, rather than a sudden and unlimited green light.
“What it cannot mean under any circumstances is 100% capacity without any attention” to safety protocols, including wearing face masks and other measures to prevent the spread of the disease, Vohra said. “That would be asinine in this day and age.”
In Tier 2, some businesses that have been severely restricted, including being able to only operate outdoors, would be able to resume limited indoor operations. Among the most notable changes in Fresno County would be the ability for restaurants to resume indoor dining at a maximum of 25% capacity or 100 patrons, gyms to reopen their indoor facilities at no more than 10% capacity, and houses of worship to begin holding services inside their sanctuaries at a maximum of 25% capacity or 100 people.
Other businesses, including retailers that have been limited to operating at 25% capacity, would be permitted to expand to 50% capacity under the red Tier 2 rules.
If the county successfully resides in Tier 2 for two weeks, elementary, middle and high schools could also be reopened to resume in-person instruction for limited numbers of students in small groups if health officials determine it can be done safely.
Bars, breweries and distilleries that don’t serve meals would remain closed under Tier 2. So would nightclubs, indoor playgrounds like ball pits or laser tag, saunas/steam rooms, live theater venues, convention centers and concert venues.
Being poised on the threshold of moving from Tier 1 to Tier 2 comes a day after fed-up business owners and conservative political representatives rallied at Fresno City Hall to declare their intention to reopen on Oct. 1, with or without authorization from the state.
A different grading system
The tier system replaced a state monitoring list of counties in which the numbers of new daily COVID-19 infections, hospitalization rates and testing positivity were climbing. Fresno County and other nearby Valley counties were on the list. When the tiers were introduced on Aug. 31, however, some businesses were allowed to reopen immediately with modifications, including barber shops and hair salons –some of which were represented at Monday’s rally.
Also on Tuesday, the state Department of Health Services announced changes that will allow nail salons to reopen in counties that are still under the purple Tier 1, provided that local county health officials approve. “I’d feel comfortable letting it happen this afternoon” if it’s up to local authorities, Vohra said Tuesday afternoon.
To move from Tier 1 to Tier 2, a county must have a rate averaging seven or fewer new daily cases per 100,000 residents, and a testing positivity rate under 8%.
Last week, Fresno County’s positivity rate was 6.2, which is below the 8% threshold. But at 7.5 daily cases per 100,000, it just missed the mark to meet the Tier 2 criteria.
Once a county enters a new tier, it must remain at that level for at least three weeks – and also meet the requirements of the next less-restrictive tier for two consecutive weeks – to progress further. For the “orange” Tier 3, denoting “moderate” risk of transmission, case counts must be fewer than four per 100,000 residents with a testing positivity rate of 4.9% or less.
The coronavirus pandemic has been an on-again, off-again ordeal for many businesses. In March, as cases surfaced in the central San Joaquin Valley and across the state, health officials at the state and county level issued stay-at-home orders and closed many restaurants, stores and other businesses in an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
In May, some of those business restrictions were lifted. But within a few weeks, a surge in the number of infections, hospitalizations and deaths from the virus prompted another clampdown on many types of operations deemed “non-essential” under health orders
Moving from Tier 1 to Tier 2 “doesn’t mean we can just throw open our doors and go back to 100% capacity with no masking and no safety protocols in place,” Vohra said Tuesday. “We have to go more carefully than we did in the summer.”
“Learning from our past mistakes is the best way to lean into this reopening,” he added. “We need to go gradually and make sure people stay vigilant.”
Fresno County Administrative Officer Jean Rousseau agreed. “We can’t let our guard down,” he said. “We all want our schools to reopen, we want our businesses to reopen … but we can’t make the same mistakes” that led to the summer surge. “We need everyone’s cooperation to get through this and put this behind us.”
Reductions in cases, hospitalizations
As recently as a month ago, Fresno County was experiencing an average of 500 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 each day over a two-week period. As of Tuesday, that two-week average had dropped to fewer than 90 new cases per day.
The number of people being treated in Fresno County hospitals for the respiratory disease caused by the virus has also plummeted in recent weeks, from more than 300 confirmed COVID-19 patients on some days in late July to 89 as of Monday, according to the state Department of Public Health.
Across the state, several counties officially advanced from one tier to another on Tuesday. In the Valley, Mariposa County moved from “orange” Tier 3, representing moderate risk of spreading the virus, to Tier 4, a “yellow” tier denoting minimal risk.
Elsewhere around the state, counties promoted from purple Tier 1 to red Tier 2 were Alameda, Riverside, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo and Solano counties.
El Dorado, Nevada and Lassen counties moved from red Tier 2 to orange Tier 3.
This story was originally published September 22, 2020 at 2:55 PM.
