Covid-19 restrictions loosen in Alameda County Wednesday with move to orange tier

Alameda County was moved Tuesday from the red tier into the more lenient orange tier in California’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy reopening guidelines. County officials said that as of Wednesday, more businesses can reopen and additional activities will be permitted under the new tier assignment.

Outdoor bars can open with modifications and are not required to serve food. Indoor breweries, distilleries and wineries can serve customers indoors at 25 percent capacity or at a maximum of 100 people, whichever is fewer.

Indoor family entertainment centers where customers can socially distance, such as bowling alleys, escape and billiard rooms, can open at 25 percent capacity. Gyms, fitness centers and studios are also allowed to open at the same capacity.

Movie theaters, zoos, aquariums, indoor dining and places of worship can increase capacity to 50 percent.

Starting Thursday, capacity will be limited to 33 percent for outdoor sporting events and live performances. Attendance for these events will require advanced reservations, county officials said.

Alameda County is reporting an adjusted Covid-19 case rate per 100,000 people of 2.6 and testing positivity rate of 1.1 percent.

Dr. Nicholas Moss, Alameda County Health Officer said in a statement on Tuesday:

“Our metrics have improved, but this pandemic is not yet in our rear-view mirror.

Moss added:

“Variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 are circulating in our county, case rates are rising in other parts of the country and, while nearly a quarter of Alameda County residents aged 16 and older have been fully vaccinated, we aren’t at the levels required for broad community protection or immunity.”

Alameda County was the only Bay Area county to see a change in tier status this week. Marin, San Mateo, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties have already moved into the orange tier. Contra Costa, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties remain in the red tier.

Statewide, five counties — Fresno, Glenn, Kings, Madera and Yuba — were moved into the red tier, leaving just three California counties in the “widespread” purple tier as of Tuesday. In addition to Alameda County, seven counties — Butte, Colusa, Los Angeles, Modoc, Orange, Santa Cruz and Tuolumne — moved from the red to orange tier.

Jerold Chinn

Jerold serves as a reporter and San Francisco Bureau Chief for SFBay covering transportation and occasionally City Hall and the Mayor's Office in San Francisco. His work on transportation has been recognized by the San Francisco Press Club. Born and raised in San Francisco, he graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in journalism. Jerold previously wrote for the San Francisco Public Press, a nonprofit, noncommercial news organization. When not reporting, you can find Jerold taking Muni to check out new places to eat in the city.