State OKs More Reopening Of Riverside County Amid Coronavirus

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Schools, along with sectors like indoor dining, gyms and places of worship can reopen — with some restrictions — in Riverside County, updated state data revealed Tuesday.

The county is one of several in California that progressed Tuesday in the state’s color-coded four-tier system that was implemented last month to curtail the coronavirus spread. Riverside County moved from the most restrictive “purple tier” to the “red tier,” indicating that COVID-19 spread has improved from being “widespread” to “substantial."

California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly delivered a formal announcement Tuesday and said Riverside, as well as Alameda, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo and Solano counties all progressed from the purple to red tier.

The following additional sectors can reopen in Riverside and the other four counties under the red-tier guidelines:

• Indoor retail (at 50 percent maximum capacity)
• Indoor and outdoor malls, destination centers, swap meets (at 50 percent maximum capacity with food courts allowed to reopen at reduced capacity; common areas would remain closed)
• Indoor personal care services
• Indoor museums, zoos and aquariums (at 25 percent maximum capacity)
• Indoor places of worship (at 25 percent maximum capacity or 100 people, whichever is fewer)
• Indoor gyms, fitness centers (at 10 percent capacity)
• Indoor restaurants (at 25 percent capacity or 100 people, whichever is fewer)
• Schools can reopen on a widespread basis (without a waiver), but must wait two weeks before doing so

Hair salons and barbershops were allowed to reopen previously with some restrictions in place.

Additionally, Ghaly announced Tuesday that nail salons may reopen statewide but with restrictions in place.

Since May 8 — when the board of supervisors voted 5-0 to align with state health directives — the county has not imposed any safety guidelines that are stricter than the state's.

On Tuesday, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 to revisit a plan that defies the state's coronavirus public health regulations and instead allows all county sectors to fully open. The board will consider a revised plan on Oct. 6. >>>Read more here: Defiance Of CA's COVID-19 Framework Delayed In Riverside County

Gov. Gavin Newsom has threatened to cut aid to counties and cities that flout state-imposed restrictions.

Riverside County public health spokesperson Jose Arballo said Tuesday that although all schools may reopen for in-person instruction, they must wait two weeks before doing so unless a waiver is in place. (Click here to see all Riverside County schools that have applied for a waiver. No public school districts are on the list.)

While Arballo said the move into the red tier was good news for the local economy, he urged residents and businesses to remain vigilant in protecting against coronavirus spread.

Community adherence to the safety protocols of face coverings, social distancing and frequent hand washing “are the reasons we got where we are at,” in terms of reopening more businesses, Arballo said.

"We can't forget that," he continued.

The total number of COVID-19 infections in Riverside County was reported at 57,482 Tuesday, compared to 57,419 on Monday, according to the Riverside University Health System.

Officials said the number of countywide deaths tied to COVID-19 increased to 1,172, compared to 1,162 Monday. As of Tuesday, 146 patients were hospitalized for treatment of the virus, 15 more than Monday. That figure includes 42 people in intensive care units — five fewer than Monday, according to RUHS.

What pushed the county into the red tier was its improved case rate and positivity rate. State data released Tuesday showed the county with a 5.8 percent positivity rate and a 6.7 case rate. Riverside County had been prevented from moving forward with more reopenings because it had previously exceeded the state thresholds of an 8 percent coronavirus positivity rate over a seven-day period and a case rate of seven infections per 100,000 population over the same period.

Riverside joins San Diego and Orange as being the only Southern California counties to progress into the red tier. San Diego has straddled the purple and red tiers, but Ghaly said it will not progress backward at this time, but that will change if figures don't stabilize there.

Riverside County will now eye a move into the orange tier (moderate virus spread). In order to do so, however, it will have to continue with widespread COVID-19 testing, a low COVID-19 hospitalization rate, and it will have to bring its positivity rate to 4.9 percent or lower and its case rate to 3.9 (or lower) per 100,000 population — and it must do so over three consecutive weeks. Once that happens, the following industry sectors may reopen:

• All indoor retail (no limitations on capacity but safety guidelines will be in place)
• Indoor malls, shopping centers, destination centers, swap meets (with modifications including closed common areas, reduced capacity in food courts)
• Indoor museums, zoos and aquariums (modifications include 50 percent indoor capacity)
• Indoor places of worship (modifications include maximum 50 percent capacity or 200 people, whichever is fewer)
• Indoor movie theaters (modifications include maximum 50 percent capacity or 200 people, whichever is fewer)
• Hotels and lodging (modifications include onsite fitness centers can open to maximum 25 percent capacity; indoor pools may reopen)
• Indoor gyms and fitness centers (modifications include maximum 25 percent capacity; indoor pools may reopen)
• Indoor restaurant dining (modifications include maximum 50 percent capacity or 200 people, whichever is fewer)
• Indoor wineries (modifications include maximum 25 capacity indoors, or 100 people, whichever is fewer)
• Bars, breweries and distilleries (modifications include open outdoors only)
• Family entertainment centers (with modifications including open indoors for naturally distanced activities; maximum 25 percent capacity; bowling alleys and climbing activities allowed)
• Indoor card rooms, satellite wagering (modifications include 25 percent capacity)
• Indoor offices (although indoor offices may open, telecommuting is preferred)

Three counties moved into the state's orange tier on Tuesday: El Dorado, Lassen and Nevada. One county, Mariposa, moved into the least restrictive yellow tier.

The above graphic shows the state's color-coded tiered framework. The California map below shows the updated colors assigned to each county (current as of Sept. 22). The state updates the data each Tuesday.