Marin, Solano counties advance to California’s less-restrictive reopening tiers

Two North Bay counties will advance to lower-risk levels of California’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy as the state nears the June 15 date for a full reopening, state officials said Tuesday.

Solano County will graduate from the red tier (“substantial” risk of infections) to the orange tier (“moderate” risk), while Marin County will move from orange to yellow (“minimal” risk), according to the state. The tier changes take effect at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday.

There were no tier changes this week among the North Bay’s four additional counties. Sonoma, Napa and Lake counties remain the orange tier, while Mendocino County stays in yellow, according to the state.

Under the yellow tier, restaurants, wineries, breweries and distilleries, as well as movie theaters and fitness centers, can operate indoors at 50% capacity. Retail stores, hotels, hair salons and barbershops can open indoors with modifications.

Under the orange tier, retail establishments and indoor malls can fully reopen with modifications. Restaurant capacity is limited to 50% or 200 people, whichever is less. Gyms and fitness studios can operate indoors at 25%.

Marin County has “earned the freedom to open more safely,” said Dr. Matt Willis, the county’s public health officer. “We have our local residents to thank for following the science and best evidence at every stage of this pandemic, including choosing to be vaccinated. Our data shows clearly that vaccines work. Almost all current cases and outbreaks are among unvaccinated people.”

Marin County this week reported a new daily COVID-19 case rate of 1.3 per 100,000 residents, and a test positivity rate of 0.6%. In order to advance to the yellow tier, a county’s new daily case rate must be less than 2 per 100,000 residents for two consecutive weeks. The test positivity rate must be less than 2%.

Solano County, which had been stuck in the red tier since March 10, moves into the orange tier with a new daily COVID-19 case rate of 3.8 per 100,000 residents, and a test positivity rate of 1.6%. In order to advance to the orange tier, a county’s new daily case rate must be less than 2 and 5.9 per 100,000 residents for two consecutive weeks. The test positivity rate must be between 2% and 4.9%.

“We are seeing a substantial decrease in the spread of COVID-19 in our community, therefore enabling us to move down to the next tier and expanding capacity for our businesses,” Dr. Bela T. Matyas, Solano County’s health officer, said in a release. "While we are nearing the end of the pandemic, we continue to encourage our community members to get vaccinated to protect themselves from severe illness and death. Solano Public Health remains dedicated to eliminating barriers to vaccinate the community against COVID-19 by focusing on providing pop-up clinics – meeting people where they are.”

Statewide, three additional counties will move from orange to yellow this week. Joining Marin are Monterey, San Benito and Ventura counties.

And Solano advances from red to orange along with Nevada, Sacramento and San Joaquin counties.

There are now four counties remaining in the red tier: Shasta, Yuba, Del Norte and Stanislaus counties. There are no longer any counties in the purple, or “widespread” risk, category.

California officials are set to fully reopen the state on June 15, if current case and vaccination trends hold.

This story has been updated with the additional tier changes this week across the state.