San Luis Obispo County will enter the least restrictive Yellow Tier in California’s COVID-19 Blueprint for a Safer Economy starting tomorrow, June 9, at 8 a.m.
According to a June 8 County Public Health press release, this means that restaurants and movie theaters can open at 50% indoor capacity and their 200-person maximum is removed. Bars with no food service can open at 25% capacity or a 100-person maximum. Gatherings also have fewer restrictions in the Yellow Tier, which can be found here.
Capacity for gyms and fitness centers can increase to 50% and their saunas and steam rooms can now open. Museums, zoos and aquariums no longer have to limit their indoor capacity.
Moving into this phase of “minimal” COVID-19 transmission means that the county has less than one new case per day for every 100,000 people and less than 2% of the COVID-19 tests administered are positive.
County Health Officer Dr. Penny Borenstein said in the press release that the San Luis Obispo community has “come so far” — slowing the spread of COVID-19 and moving from the most restrictive to least restrictive tier.
“I commend everyone who has worked hard to help us reach this milestone, and I encourage everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated so we can put this pandemic fully in the past,” Borenstein said.
The county added 14 new COVID-19 cases today and has a total of 43 active cases. There have been 21,079 recovered cases and 261 deaths due to COVID-19. The number of positive cases reported through Cal Poly’s testing program has declined since May, with only four students testing positive in the last three weeks, Mustang News previously reported.
This transition comes one week before the state is set to fully reopen on June 15. On that date, “all sectors listed in the current Blueprint Activities and Business Tiers Chart may return to usual operations,” according to California Department of Public Health’s website. There will be no capacity or physical distancing restrictions for the sectors.
COVID-19 regulations still apply for mega events after June 15. Vaccine verification or negative testing will be recommended for outdoor mega events and required for indoor mega events. Masking requirements must follow what has been set by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and travelers must follow CDC recommendations and the CDHP Travel Advisory.