Orange County 'On Verge' Of Red Tier Upgrade In Newsom's Plan

ORANGE COUNTY, CA —Retail therapy is once again underway in Orange County, albeit at 25 percent for in-person shopping. Gov. Gavin Newsom's plan for coordinating the reopening of counties remains under examination by county lawmakers.

Newsom's four-tiered system is a "better way to ensure reopenings are done right," his office stated last week, adding that none of the tiers are "skippable," and each county must "pass" each one over two weeks.

On Monday, Orange County remains within the state's new "purple tier" of counties for COVID-19, where it will sit for at least one more week, according to the system.

One skilled nursing resident died as a result of coronavirus, it was reported Monday, and 94 new cases of coronavirus were reported countywide.

On Sunday, 254 new cases of coronavirus in the county were reported. Another four people died of the virus, they said. Still, Orange County remains on a solid pathway in metrics that show improvement.

Hospitalizations are down to 317 patients suffering COVID-19, ICU patients have dropped to 98. The county's infection rate has fallen to 76 in 100,000 residents, though still higher than the 25 case count the state is looking for.

Though the county is nine days off the previous "watch list" as of monday, the county remains in the "purple" or worst tier for at least another week.

Nevertheless, we are on the verge of being upgraded to the next tier of red. Orange County Supervisor Lisa Bartlett and president of the California State Association of Counties discussed the new system Friday as state officials unveiled the new rating program.

"We are very close, based on the last two weeks of data to almost be moving into red," Bartlett said. That is because the county was already on the right track when Newsom disclosed the new tiered system.

County CEO Frank Kim explained Friday the state has said counties such as Orange that were off the state's watch list will get credit for the days they were off the list. That means that if the county's good trends continue as expected until Sept. 8, then the county can reopen schools for in-classroom instruction.

Along with several other counties that were off the watch list, Orange County was grandfathered in under the old system, Kim said. Under the new system, the county would have had to wait another two weeks after moving into another tier.

"We've got to hold there another week, and then fingers crossed," Kim said.

The county is still able to apply for kindergarten through sixth-grade waivers. Most of the waiver applications are coming from secular and other private schools, according to Kim.

The new system, unveiled Friday by Gov. Gavin Newsom, focuses more on the case and positivity rates because of breakthroughs in testing and the ability to get results more quickly, allowing public health professionals to more efficiently quarantine and address hot spots and surges.

Before, state officials focused on hospitalization and intensive-care unit beds because they wanted to be prepared for any surges that could hasten more deaths.

"It actually encourages more testing and contact tracing," Bartlett said of the new system.

The new system is also more fair to higher-population counties because the overall case counts were being held against them, and now officials are focusing more on present-day case counts, Bartlett said.

The state also includes a "seven-day lag" as a failsafe to account for slower laboratories.

But the new system also focuses on the third criterion beyond case and positivity rates, which is still vague, Bartlett said.

"When they define the third criteria more, that should bring more clarity to the counties on how they can operate within the guidelines, and which business sectors can open and to what capacity," Bartlett said.

Hair salons and indoor malls at 25 percent capacity can reopen on Monday statewide, Bartlett said. South Coast Plaza was among the indoor malls to reopen their doors.

If Orange County's trends continue and it makes it into the red tier, then indoor dining, for example, could be added at 25 percent capacity after next week, Bartlett said.

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