Most of California’s 40 million residents will be able to enjoy limited indoor activities mid-week, such as dining indoors or watching a movie in a theater. coronavirus The number of cases remains low, state officials said Friday.
Officials said 13 counties, including Los Angeles, could open restaurants, gyms and museums with limited capacity on Sunday, a result of the state reaching a capital value of 2 million to get more vaccines into low-income communities. Another 13 counties are expected to reopen on Wednesday under a different measure.
Next week, the state will also expand the right to the still scarce vaccine.
Which provinces can reopen on Sunday and why?
Governor Gavin Newsom announced last week that he would set aside 40% of the vaccine for residents of about 400 zip codes that the state deems most vulnerable based on statistics such as family income, access to health care and education levels.
The point is to link reopening standards to ensure that the people most affected by the pandemic are protected from the virus, he said. Once the state reaches 2 million doses delivered in those zip codes, which it did on Friday, the threshold for getting out of the most restrictive tier becomes in a four-tier color-coded system the state adopted in August.
Previously, counties could move from the purple level to the lower red level based on statistics that included the number of new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people per day over a period of several weeks. The threshold for entering the red layer now goes from 7 cases per 100,000 inhabitants to 10 cases.
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The counties that will reopen in 48 hours – Sunday – include Contra Costa and Sonoma in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles. San Bernardino and Orange said it would do so on Sunday, although LA County officials said they would wait until Monday.
What about the other provinces?
San Diego, Sacramento, Riverside and Ventura are among 13 additional counties expected to reopen Wednesday through the normal relocation process that takes place every Tuesday.
San Joaquin and Santa Barbara fall into this category. The hard-hit counties of Kern and Fresno in the central valley remain at their most restrictive level.
Who is eligible for the vaccine on Monday?
The state is opening vaccinations to an estimated 4.4 million people aged 16-64 with disabilities and certain health conditions, including severe obesity, type 2 diabetes, stage four or higher chronic kidney disease and Down syndrome.
California guidelines do not require medical documentation; instead, people will have to confirm their eligibility. This reduces barriers to entry, but it also opens a loophole for determined line jumpers.
San Francisco goes a step further than the state, broadening the categories allowed and adding people who are deaf, HIV positive or with behavioral disorders, including serious mental health or substance use disorders, to get vaccinated.
Dr. Paul Simon, LA County’s Chief Science Officer, said people will be asked to sign an attestation if they are unable to provide documentation. “We certainly hope that people will not try to take advantage of the situation and be fair,” said Simon.
The state is also expanding suitability for transit workers and residents and workers of homeless shelters, prisons and detention centers. They meet with teachers, food and agricultural workers, health care workers, and seniors 65 and older to qualify for vaccination.
What is the status of the new vaccine system in California?
In late January, Newsom announced that insurer Blue Shield would set up and operate a new vaccine tracking and delivery system. The state’s 58 counties and three cities with public health departments should use the state’s My Turn system to make appointments.
Blue Shield is expected to take control on March 31. But Santa Clara County has refused to sign a contract with the insurer, saying it better vaccinate its residents with an appointment system superior to the state system.
Blue Shield CEO Paul Markovich said on Friday that more than half of local health jurisdictions have switched to My Turn or will be switching soon, he said.
“My Turn” is great for scheduling appointments at mass vaccination sites, but it’s not great at freeing up slots for vulnerable populations in smaller clinics, said Joe Prado, manager of the Fresno County community health department. He expects the state’s online portal to improve.
“We will live with these two systems for a while,” he said.