California counties move to reopen schools and businesses despite pandemic risks
Despite having the most COVID-19 infections and deaths of any state in the US, a growing number of counties in California are beginning to reopen businesses, schools and other public venues like theme parks and museums.
On Tuesday, seven more counties were lowered from the most restrictive “purple tier” to the “red tier” on the state’s “Blueprint for a Safer Economy.” The “red tier” entails a “substantial” level of risk, with 4–7 new cases per 100,000 people and a 5–8 percent test positivity rate, both of which indicate high levels of community transmission of the virus. The counties which have entered the red tier include San Francisco, Santa Clara, Napa, San Luis Obispo, Lassen, Modoc and El Dorado.
Sarah Simental s parents say she had no other health problems, and still, the virus took her life at such a young age.
A school will be closed if 5% or more of students and staff test positive within a 14-day period, officials said.
A districtwide shutdown will be triggered if 25% of the district s schools close within a 14-day period.
Schools would then transition back to remote learning.
California extended its strict stay-at-home orders Tuesday in areas where intensive care units are running out of beds, coming after Gov. Gavin Newsom warned residents to brace for the effect of a surge on top of a surge of coronavirus cases from holiday travel.