Bay Area Exits State’s Regional Stay at Home Order

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 25, 2021

Neetu Balram

Public Information Manager Alameda County Public Health Department eoc-pio@acgov.org

Bay Area Exits State’s Regional Stay at Home Order

Alameda County is a Purple Tier County.

ALAMEDA COUNTY, CA – The California Department of Public Health announced that effective today, January 25, the Bay Area region meets the criteria to exit the Regional Stay at Home Order due to encouraging long-term projections for ICU bed availability.

Alameda County is now in the Purple Tier of the State’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy with an adjusted daily new case rate per 100,000 residents of 37.7 and a testing positivity rate of 8.6 percent. The County has issued a new Health Officer Order to align with the State’s Blueprint, and activities and businesses permitted in the Purple Tier may resume operation immediately.

Thanks to the commitment and sacrifice of Alameda County residents, workers, and businesses under the State’s Regional Stay at Home Order, we avoided the worst of the winter surge and helped our health care workers to continue serving all of us through this difficult period. However, the number of new cases reported daily is still more than double the summer peak, and residents must continue to comply with COVID-19 safety precautions. To protect their families, friends and neighbors from this debilitating and deadly virus and to reopen more activities, residents must continue to wear masks whenever leaving home, keep at least six feet of distance from anyone they don’t live with, wash hands frequently, and stay home if they don’t feel well.

Businesses and activities permitted to open under the State’s Purple Tier must comply with State’s Industry Guidance: https://covid19.ca.gov/industry-guidance/. Additional workplace resources can be found here https://covid-19.acgov.org/recovery and resources for Alameda County workers are available here https://covid-19.acgov.org/worker-resources.

It is also important to note that as more activities and businesses open again and more people from different households gather, the risk of COVID-19 may increase again. To ensure Alameda County can move forward through the State’s color-tiered framework and to allow more activities and businesses to reopen, residents are strongly encouraged to continue to stay home as much as possible and avoid gathering with other households. Residents are reminded of the state prohibition on gatherings of more than three households and should avoid Super Bowl parties and similar activities.

“We may be past the winter surge, but COVID-19 is still with us,” said Dr. Nicholas Moss, Alameda County Health Officer. “We are only in the early stages of our vaccination campaign, and the virus has shown us it

is capable of returning again and again. That means that, even as we cautiously reopen, we must continue to do the things we know work to keep each other safe.”

The State’s list of permitted activities and businesses is available here https://covid19.ca.gov/safer- economy/. Businesses and activities permitted to open include:

Outdoors only, with modifications

• Campgrounds
• Cardrooms and Racetracks
• Family Entertainment Centers and Movie Theaters
• Gyms
• Museums
• Places of Worship and Cultural Ceremonies
• Restaurants, Wineries, and Tasting Rooms
• Zoos and AquariumsIndoors, with modifications

• Hair Salons and Barbershops
• Hotels and Lodging (indoor gyms and fitness studios remain closed)
• Personal Care Services, including Massage, Nail Salons and Skin Care Services
• Grocery Stores may increase capacity to 50 percent
• Other Retail may increase capacity to 25 percentSchools are not impacted by the lifting of the Regional Stay at Home Order, and Alameda County is following the State’s newly released framework and guidance on school reopening.Gatherings: Small and time-limited private gatherings among no more than three household are now permitted outdoors under State guidance. Masks and physical distancing are still required for these gatherings, and anyone who is experiencing symptoms must not attend. Singing, shouting, chanting, cheering, or exercising are strongly discouraged. Those at high risk of severe illness are strongly encouraged not to attend. Large gatherings and gathering indoors are still prohibited.