Most of California’s 40 million people will be able to enjoy limited indoor activities, such as dining indoors or watching a movie at a theater until mid-week. coronavirus case rates remain low, state officials said on Friday.
Officials said 13 counties, including Los Angeles, will be able to open restaurants, gyms and museums with limited capacity on Sunday, as a result of the state reaching a value of 2 million in capital aimed at introducing more vaccines in communities with low income. Another 13 counties are expected to reopen on Wednesday below another value.
Also next week, the state will expand the eligibility for the vaccine still rarely.
Which counties can reopen on Sunday and why?
Governor Gavin Newsom announced last week that he would set aside 40 percent of the vaccine for residents of about 400 zip codes that the state considers most vulnerable based on values such as household income, access to health care and education levels.
The idea is to tie reopening standards to ensure that people most affected by the pandemic are protected from the virus, he said. Once the state has reached 2 million doses administered in those postal codes, which made Friday the threshold for leaving the most restrictive level in a four-level color-coded system, the state adopted in August relaxes.
Previously, counties could move from purple to lower red, based on values that include the number of new cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 people per day over a period of several weeks. The threshold for entering the red level is now moving from 7 cases to 100,000 inhabitants to 10 cases.
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Counties eligible for reopening in 48 hours – Sunday – include Contra Costa and Sonoma in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles. San Bernardino and Orange said they would do so on Sunday, although LA County officials said they would wait until Monday.
What about the other counties?
San Diego, Sacramento, Riverside and Ventura are among 13 additional counties expected to reopen Wednesday through the normal reassignment process that takes place every Tuesday.
San Joaquin and Santa Barbara fall into this category. The heavily affected Kern and Fresno counties in the central valley remain at the most restrictive level.
Who becomes eligible for the vaccine on Monday?
The state opens vaccinations to about 4.4 million people between the ages of 16 and 64 with disabilities and certain health conditions, including severe obesity, type 2 diabetes, chronic kidney disease in stage four or above, and Down syndrome.
California guidelines do not require medical documentation; Instead, people will need to certify that they are eligible. This reduces access barriers, but also opens a door for certain line jumpers.
San Francisco is taking a step beyond the state by expanding the permitted categories and adding people who are deaf, HIV positive, or have behavioral health disabilities, including severe mental health or substance use disorders, to get vaccinated.
Dr. Paul Simon, the chief scientific officer of LA County, said people will be required to sign a certificate if they cannot provide documentation. “We certainly hope that people will not try to take advantage of the situation and will be honest,” Simon said.
The state is also expanding eligibility for workers in transit and for residents and workers of shelters, prisons and detention centers for the homeless. They join teachers, food and agricultural workers, health workers and people aged 65 and over to be eligible for the vaccine.
What is the state of the new vaccination 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 58 counties of the state and three cities with public health departments would be required to use the state turn system to make appointments.
Blue Shield should take control by March 31. But Santa Clara County has refused to sign a contract with the insurer, saying it can better vaccinate its residents with an appointment system that is superior to the state system.
Blue Shield CEO Paul Markovich said Friday that more than half of local health jurisdictions have moved to My Turn or will move soon, he said.
My turn is great for scheduling appointments at mass vaccination sites, but it’s not so good at making slots for vulnerable populations in smaller clinics, said Joe Prado, manager of the community health division in Fresno. He expects the state’s online portal to improve.
“We will live with these two systems a little longer,” he said.