Lake County moves to orange less-restrictive reopening tier; Solano is last Bay Area county in red tier

Lake County early Wednesday morning officially moved to the orange tier in California’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy, according to state officials.

The move allows some businesses to increase their customer capacities and reopen outdoor venues, according to the state Department of Public Health, which made the announcement Tuesday.

The county reported a new daily COVID-19 case rate of 4.6 per 100,000 residents and a test positivity rate of 2.7%. In order to advance to the orange tier, a county’s new daily case rate must fall between 2 and 5.9 per 100,000 residents for two consecutive weeks. The test positivity rate must land between 2% and 4.9%.

Lake County becomes the fifth of the North Bay’s six-county region to advance to the orange tier. Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino counties moved to orange on April 7, following Marin County, which advanced to orange on March 24.

Solano County remains in the red tier, staying put after being on the cusp the previous week of reverting back to the purple tier, the state’s most-restrictive status.

Under the orange tier, retail establishments and indoor malls can fully reopen and food courts can open at 50% capacity or 200 people, whichever is lower. Gyms and fitness studios can operate indoors at 10% capacity under the red tier, and at 25% in orange.

Counties in the orange tier also can begin to reopen outdoor venues for sports and live performances, with capacity limited at 20%. Reservations and assigned seating will be required, and only people living within 120 miles of the region can attend an event. Maximum capacity expands to 33%.

Kern County also moved to the orange tier on April 14, while Inyo County advanced from purple to red. Lassen, Sierra and Alpine counties are now in the yellow tier, the least-restrictive status. Of the state’s 58 counties, only Merced County remains in the purple tier.

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