November 12, 2020

This week’s Tier Tuesday update from Health and Human Services Secretary Mark Ghaly was sobering. Eleven counties moved into a more restrictive tier today, while zero moved into a less restrictive tier. The tier changes include: 

• Red to Purple: Sacramento, San Diego, Stanislaus
• Orange to Red: Amador, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Placer, Santa Cruz
• Yellow to Orange: Modoc, Siskiyou, Trinity

Secretary Ghaly also said that up to half of the state’s counties could move to a more restrictive tier by next week. For the state as a whole, the average rate of cases per day is 6,078 and the 7-day positivity rate increased from 3.7 last week to 4.2 percent today.

Dr. Ghaly implored Californians to continue wearing masks and practice hand hygiene, but also focused on the role of private gatherings in transmission of the virus. County contact tracing also points to social gatherings as key factor for rising coronavirus cases. The state will issue additional gathering guidance soon; eight Bay Area counties already issued such guidance that builds on the state’s current gathering advice (no more than three households for more than two hours and must be held outdoors) by adding warnings about traveling long distances or attending multiple gatherings.

For those counties moving back to the Purple tier, dining and other business must be conducted outdoors. Also, schools in a county that are already open may remain open while in the Purple tier, but those that haven’t yet reopened cannot open in the Purple tier. Additionally, nail salons and other personal care services may remain open in the Purple tier.

View a comprehensive data chart of each county’s metrics here.