San Francisco became the first Bay Area locale to enter the orange, or “moderate,” tier of California’s color-coded reopening system, a top state health official announced Tuesday.
Contra Costa County also exited the most severe purple tier, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services Dr. Mark Ghaly said Tuesday, leaving Sonoma County as the only jurisdiction in the region still under the most restrictive state measures.
Ghaly said the decision to allow San Francisco to advance came in close conjunction with local health officials.
“San Francisco is moving today after a close set of conversations over the past week with San Francisco County health leadership around data and looking at it closely,” Ghaly said via the virtual news conference.
For Contra Costa County, that means many sectors now have the green light from the state health department to open in limited capacity. However, as San Francisco has exemplified, not all local jurisdictions have moved forward with looser restrictions immediately after receiving the state’s approval.
Despite being one of the few counties deemed red upon the announcement of the new system at the end of August, San Francisco has declined to allow for most indoor activities at any capacity. However, officials there have indicated they could move forward with loosening restrictions once the city entered the orange tier, which it did Tuesday.
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