Coronavirus cases are surging to record-breaking levels across the U.S. and California, and with several Bay Area counties already rolling back their reopenings, it appears Santa Clara County is on track to follow along.
On Tuesday, both Santa Cruz and Contra Costa Counties slid back from the “moderate” or "Orange" tier to the “substantial” or "Red" tier in the state’s Coronavirus economic reopening tracking system. Also on Tuesday, San Francisco decided to voluntarily roll back things like indoor dining despite the city being in the “Yellow" tier.
The state’s next assessment of county statuses is on Tuesday, and with the way the cases have been pouring into Santa Clara, it appears the county is at major risk of rewinding much of its progress when it comes to restarting the economy.
On Monday, Hoodline reported a dire warning from the Santa Clara County Public Health Department which said the county racked up a near-record 385 new cases on Sunday and was looking at a 10% jump in Covid-19 hospitalizations.
Santa Clara County has been in the "Orange" tier for just over a month. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the county’s case rate of 4.1 per 100,000 population is just past the benchmark of 4 that would place it in the red tier.
Today members of the Santa Clara County Public Health Department held a press conference that mostly focused on both citizens and businesses adhering to the coronavirus health restrictions that are in place to try and mitigate the spread.
"To slow the spread of COVID, the business has an obligation to create a safe environment for the customers coming into the business but also an obligation to its workers, and the community in general. Every action that the business takes will help prevent the spread of COVID,” said Santa Clara County Business Compliance Unit Lead Beatrice Santiago.
The county also called on the public to be its eyes and ears, looking out for businesses that aren’t following the rules.
“If you see a violation occurring we want you to visit sccCOVIDconcerns.org. There you can report a business that is in violation. By business, this could mean any type of business that is a retail store, restaurant, and there’s even have a place for schools or parents that may be in violation of orders. We encourage you to be proactive, do your part, and keep yourself educated,” Santiago said at the press conference.
If Santa Clara County does get sucked back into the red tier by Governor Newsom the impact would be widespread.
Retail stores would only be allowed to operate at 50% capacity. Indoor dining would be limited to 25% occupancy. Gyms, churches, and theaters would also face stronger restrictions.
According to Patch, these same restrictions go into effect Friday in Santa Cruz and Conta Costa counties.
If Santa Clara County does move into the red on Tuesday, its new restrictions would be scheduled to start the following Friday.
