SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California has lifted regional stay-at-home orders statewide in response to improving coronavirus conditions.
Public health officials said Monday the state will return to a system of county-by-county restrictions intended to stem the spread of the virus. San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties are both in the purple or "widespread" tier, meaning many non-essential indoor business operations remain closed. Click here to search the status of activities in each county.
The state is also lifting a 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew.
The decision comes with improving trends in the rate of infections, hospitalizations and intensive care unit capacity as well as vaccinations.
The lifting of the order is based on projections that the state says show improving ICU conditions, but officials have not disclosed the data behind the forecasts.
The San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department released the following information about purple tier restrictions:
Activities that may continue or reopen indoors with modifications under the Purple Tier include:
- Critical infrastructure sectors (including medical and dental care, child and daycare, grocery stores, schools if already open, etc.)
- Entertainment production (including recordings of performances with no live in-person audience)
- Hair salons and barbershops
- Hotels and lodging
- Limited services (Laundromats, dry cleaners, auto repair shops, car washes, landscapers, door-to-door sales services, pet grooming, dog walking, etc.)
- Personal care services (skin care services; nail services; body art professionals, tattoo parlors, and piercing shops; massage services, etc.)
- Retail - increase to 25% maximum capacity (from 20%)
- Shopping centers - Max 25% capacity, close common areas, close food courts
Activities that may resume outdoors only with modifications under the Purple Tier include:
- Campgrounds and RV parks
- Cardrooms and satellite wagering
- Day camps
- Dining at restaurants
- Drive-in movie theaters
- Family entertainment centers (kart racing, mini golf, batting cages, etc.)
- Gatherings:
- Masks and physical distancing required
- No more than 3 separate households attend (including the host’s)
- Gatherings should be 2 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
- Gyms and fitness centers (including dance studios)
- Live outdoor drive-in performances
- Museums, zoos, and aquariums
- Playgrounds and outdoor recreation facilities (including campgrounds and RV parks)
- Wineries
- Worship services - including wedding ceremonies and funerals.
Sectors or activities that must remain closed under the Purple Tier:
- Amusement parks (including water parks)
- Offices (except remote work)
- Bars, breweries, and distilleries (where no meal provided; follow restaurant guidance where meal is provided)
- Bowling alleys
- Community centers, convention centers, and concert venues
- Indoor pools, hot tubs, saunas, and steam rooms
- Indoor playgrounds
- Indoor recreation, fitness, dance
- Indoor movie theaters
- Live audience sports (including adult rec leagues, games and tournaments)
Other Important Restrictions:
- Californians must continue to wear masks when they are outside of their own home.
- Leisure and non-essential travel - 14 day self-quarantine required for visitors and returning California residents (Essential travel includes: work and study, critical infrastructure support, economic services, health, immediate medical care, and safety and security.)
To move into the next tier, red, a county must remain in the purple tier for at least three weeks and meet the state’s adjusted case rate and testing positivity criteria for the red tier for the prior two consecutive weeks. The county must also meet the state's health equity criteria to demonstrate its ability to address the county's most impacted communities.
The state will release updated tier assignments on Tuesdays.