OC moves up on state's COVID-19 tracking list amid promising case trends
The county's new case rate per 100,000 residents over seven days is 5.6. To move to the next tier, the county has to be between 4 and 7.
SANTA ANA, Calif. (KABC) -- Orange County moved up from the purple to the red tier of the state's coronavirus tracking system on Tuesday after the county reported 113 new cases and no additional deaths the day before.
The upgrade to the red tier will allow many businesses to reopen and indoor religious services to resume with some restrictions, said Orange County Supervisor Lisa Bartlett.
"This significant move to the red tier for Orange County indicates that we are hopefully getting the upper hand on COVID-19,'' Supervisor Lisa Bartlett said last week. "I look forward to cautiously opening up our local economy so we experience some level of normalcy once again in our day-to-day lives."
Under the red tier of Gov. Gavin Newsom's new framework that unveiled last month, the county will be able to reopen movie theaters and restaurants for indoor dining at 25% capacity and churches for indoor worship at 25% capacity. Shopping centers may expand from 25% capacity to half capacity under the red tier.
Case numbers are typically lower over the weekend due to reporting lags, but Monday's relatively low numbers are another encouraging sign. The county has met the state's metrics for at least two weeks.
The county's new case rate per 100,000 residents over seven days is 5.6. To move to the next tier, the county has to be between 4 and 7.
Hospitalizations in the county continued to decline, dropping from 253 Sunday to 238, while the number of people in intensive care declined from 77 to 75, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency.
The rate of county residents testing positive for COVID-19 was at 5%, which is below the state's desired threshold of 8%.
City News Service contributed to this report.
