COVID-19 Updates
Tiers; Vaccine Eligibility; Federal Vaccine Clinics; Youth Sports; and March Fiscal Update
March 18, 2021
Coronavirus cases in California continue to decrease, with a 2.3 percent 7-day positivity rate and 11 more counties moving to a less-restrictive tier. This improvement comes together with 13 counties moved to the red tier on Sunday as a result of the statewide vaccine equity metric being met.
Ten counties moved to a less restrictive tier this week, from Purple (widespread) to Red (substantial). Those counties include Lake, Monterey, Riverside, Sacramento, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Sutter, Tehama, Tulare, and Ventura. One county, San Mateo, moved from Red (substantial) to Orange (moderate), and no counties moved to a more restrictive tier. Overall:
- 11 counties remain in the Purple (widespread) tier
- 42 in the Red (substantial) tier (87% of the state population)
- 4 four in the Orange (moderate) tier
- 1 is in the Yellow (minimal) tier.
The statewide Blueprint for a Safer Economy map can be viewed
here.
The Sunday statewide equity promotions from Purple to Red
included Amador, Colusa, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Mendocino,
Mono, Orange, Placer, San Benito, San Bernardino, Siskiyou,
Sonoma and Tuolumne counties.
Homeless, Inmates, Behavioral Health Clients Eligible for
Vaccine
The California Department of Public Health issued an update on
March 11 to the implementation of vaccine eligibility for those
with high-risk medical conditions or disabilities to ensure that
individuals who reside or work in a high risk congregate
residential setting, or are at risk of doing so, are eligible for
the vaccine starting March 15.
This includes those working or residing in incarceration/detention facilities, homeless shelters, behavioral health facilities, as well as all people experiencing homelessness because they are at risk of transitioning into congregate settings at short notice. See the updated guidance here.
Federal Clinic Vaccine Network Expands
The list of community health centers either participating in administering federal vaccines or invited to do so expanded last week. Detailed information is contained in the links below:
Youth Sports FAQ
The California Department of Public Health released an updated
Youth Sports Question & Answers and
Outdoor and Indoor Youth and Recreational Adult
Sports document today to help athletes, parents and
sports organizations understand the state’s guidance that went
into effect on February 26.
March State Fiscal Update
The Department of Finance issued an overview of ongoing state COVID-19 expenditures yesterday. The March 2021 Fiscal Update estimates expenditures totaling $15.1 billion from 2019 through 2022 for COVID response, with $1.9 billion in net State General Fund impacts. The update also includes a spending update on the Coronavirus Relief Fund. The full update is available here.
