South San Francisco, CA February 23, 2021 Press Release
As San Mateo County’s COVID-19 positivity rate and other metrics improve, the state of California today announced the wider reopening of businesses and certain activities in the county.
The county as of 12:01 a.m. Wednesday (a minute after midnight) moves from the most-restrictive purple Tier 1 to red Tier 2 in the state’s four-tier, color-codedreopening plan.
The move allows changes for numerous types of businesses: restaurants can resume indoor dining with modifications, gyms can open indoors with modifications, and retail and shopping centers can increase capacity.
The county progressed to the red tier due to two metrics, calculated by the state: The case rate has fallen to 5.6 percent and the health equity quartile positivity rate to 3.7 percent.
Moving to Tier 2 (Red) allows:
- Restaurants indoors (max 25% capacity or 100 people, whichever is fewer)
- All retail indoors (max 50% capacity)
- Shopping centers, swap meets indoors (max 50% capacity, closed common areas, reduced capacity food courts)
- Personal care services – hair and nail salons, barbershops (open with modifications)
- Museums, zoos, and aquariums (max 25% capacity)
- Places of worship (max 25% capacity)
- Movie theaters indoors (max 25% capacity or 100 people, whichever is fewer)
- Gyms and fitness centers indoors (max 10% capacity)
- Family entertainment centers (kart racing, mini-golf, batting cages) outdoors only with modifications
Amusement parks, bars without meal service, bowling alleys, indoor playgrounds, live theater, saunas and steam rooms, nightclubs, and festivals are not permitted.
Businesses can find guidelines that apply to their industry on the state’s COVID-19 website.
Small private gatherings are allowed outdoors and indoors with modifications:
- Masks and physical distancing required
- No more than three separate households attend (including the host)
- Gatherings should be two hours or less
- Those with symptoms must not attend
- Those at high risk of severe illness strongly encouraged not to attend
- Singing, shouting, chanting, cheering, or exercising strongly discouraged outdoors and not permitted indoors
See guidance for gatherings.
Note on school operations: Decisions on public school operations are made by local school boards in consultation with the San Mateo County Office of Education. Individuals interested in the potential impact on schools should contact local school districts.
Note on youth and adult recreational sports: Individuals interested in the status of youth and adult recreational sports should check with local governing organizations, local parks and recreation departments or both. The California Department of Public Health has issued new guidance on outdoor and indoor sportsthat takes effect on Friday, Feb. 26, 2021.
Travel Recommendations The state’s Travel Advisoryremains in effect:
- Californians should remain local (not traveling more than 120 miles from their home or other places of residence) and avoid non-essential travel.
- Travelers from other states or countries entering California for tourism and recreation are strongly discouraged.
Some travel is considered essential and necessary. “Essential travel” is travel associated with the operation, maintenance, or usage of critical infrastructure or otherwise required or expressly authorized by law (including other applicable state and local public health directives), including:
- Critical infrastructure (like the water supply or power grid)
- Economic services (like banking)
- Supply chains (like food distribution)
- Health care and immediate medical care
- Safety and security
- Work and study
Learn more about COVID-19 testing options in San Mateo County: https://www.smcgov.org/testing
Learn more about COVID-19 vaccinations in San Mateo County: https://www.smchealth.org/
what it means, in the short term, a rise
in covid cases, as the public is plain
stupid in general, with short term memory loss, everytime the reins are
loosened the alcoholics go out, get
drunk, get infected, and then we get shut down again, the best thing that
could happen, would be every bar and
resturant be closed for a month and
let the drunks dry out, but the drunks
and whiny millenials will piss and moan
the blues, that they can’t have their way,
maybe it is better, that they get infected
and die, cleansing of the gene pool