EL CENTRO â Although vaccine doses have increased to more than 82,000 in Imperial County, COVID-19 positive case numbers are continuing to climb.
The metric numbers that were released by the state Tuesday revealed that Imperial County for the first of two consecutive weeks no longer met two of the metrics in the past week to remain in the orange tier.
Does that mean the county is headed back to the red tier or even the purple one?
Not necessarily. Imperial County Public Health Director Janette Angulo said there is a lot of information that determines that decision.
She said if a countyâs adjusted case rate and test positivity falls within a more restrictive tier for two consecutive weekly periods, the state will review the most recent 10 days of data, including hospitalization data.
EL CENTRO â After the state reached 4 million vaccine doses administered to people living in the vaccine equity quartile the California Department of Public Health announced less restrictive tier metrics that allowed Imperial County to move into the orange tier starting today.
The allowed case rate for the moderate level was changed from a maximum amount of 3.9 new cases daily per 100,000 residents to 5.9 cases.
The county cases rate for the past two weeks has been 5.4 per 100,000 residents.
To reach and stay in the orange tier the case rate must remain between 2 and 5.9 cases.
The seven-day average for positive tests must remain between 2 percent and 4.9 percent. Imperial County is currently at 3.4 percent.
EL CENTRO â After almost a year of many indoor activities in Imperial County being shut down as a precaution against COVID-19, local establishments, such as restaurants, will be able to open their doors to a controlled number of patrons for indoor service.
On Tuesday, the California Department of Public Health confirmed that Imperial County had at long last achieved the elusive red tier of its Blueprint for a Safer Economy.
The stateâs numbers show the county has just squeaked by the allowed plateau of seven new daily cases of COVID (6.8) per 100,000 resident to qualify for the less restrictive tier. Meanwhile, the countyâs seven-day average positive test percentage of 3.2 and its 4.1 percent health equity rate would otherwise qualify it for the orange tier.