This morning, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced that they were lifting the Regional Stay at Home Order statewide. Three regions – San Joaquin Valley, Bay Area and Southern California – were still under this public health order due to their limited ICU capacity, however four week projections show their ICU capacity hitting the threshold allowing the region to exit the order.

All counties are now subject to the 4-tiered Blueprint for a Safer Economy. Each county will fall into one of four colored tiers – Purple (Widespread), Red (Substantial), Orange (Moderate) and Yellow (Minimal) – based on how prevalent COVID-19 is in each county and the extent of community spread. That color will indicate how sectors can operate. For example, in the Purple (Widespread) tier where the disease is widespread, restaurants can only operate outdoors. But once a county has achieved a lower level of disease transmission and moved into the Red (Substantial) tier, restaurants can operate with 25 percent capacity indoors or 100 patrons, whichever is fewer. Nearly all the counties exiting the Regional Stay at Home Order today are in the Purple (most restrictive) tier.

Current county count per tier:

As a reminder, data is reviewed weekly and tiers are updated on Tuesdays. Counties can only move one tier at a time and must remain in their tier for at least three weeks before moving forward. They must also meet the next tier’s criteria for two consecutive weeks before progressing. Conversely, if a county’s metrics worsen for two consecutive weeks, it will be assigned to a more restrictive tier. Public health officials will be constantly monitoring data and can step in if deemed necessary, such as a spike in ICU and/or hospitalization rates.

The Limited Stay at Home Order, which limits non-essential activities between the hours of 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., expires with the Regional Stay At Home Order ending. CDPH still urges Californians to continue wearing masks in an effort to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

During his press conference this afternoon, Governor Newsom announced a new vaccine eligibility framework – a single statewide baseline standard to streamline the process of vaccinating Californians. The state will continue to vaccinate through 65+, health care workers, and prioritize emergency services, food and agriculture workers, teachers and school staff. From there, the state will transition to age-based eligibility.

He also announced the launch of a new scheduling system for Californians and data system for vaccinators called My Turn. The program, which was piloted in Los Angeles and San Diego counties, is estimated to launch statewide in early February.

With My Turn, Californians can receive notifications via text or email when it is their turn to get vaccinated, and schedule an appointment to receive the vaccine. Providers can use the program or an Electronic Health Record to automatically share data with the state and reduce data lag times.

Providers took the very conservative approach of administering first doses and saving a second dose. To increase available supply based on existing in-state vaccines, the Department of Public Health announced a process that will allow for the reallocation of vaccines from providers who have not used at least 65 percent of their available supply on hand for a week and have not submitted a plan for administering the remaining vaccine to prioritized populations within four days of notice.

More details regarding this framework will be released during Dr. Mark Ghaly’s press conference tomorrow afternoon, where he will also be giving an update on county tier status.

For any questions regarding the Blueprint for a Safer Economy or vaccine distribution, please reach out to Rebecca Baskins at rbaskins@kscsacramento.com.