Humboldt County moves to red tier; 54 California counties remain in purple

Humboldt is the latest county to move into a less restrictive level on the state’s reopening tier system, but the vast majority of the state remains in the most restrictive tier amid an ongoing surge in Covid-19 cases.

Humboldt County was moved to the red or “substantial” tier from the purple “widespread” tier, California Health and Human Services secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly announced Tuesday. Alpine and Mariposa counties remained in the red tier, and Sierra County remained the only county in the orange or “moderate” tier. The other 54 counties in the state were still in the purple tier Tuesday.

Those 54 counties include 956 public school districts and 1,289 charter schools, serving a total of 6,051.844 students — 99.67 % of the state’s total K-12 enrollment.

Under the state’s guidelines, schools can begin offering in-person instruction after remaining in the red tier for 14 days. However, some counties may have stricter rules in place prohibiting schools from opening.

Though schools in purple counties can’t begin offering in-person instruction, they can continue to do so if they already were offering in-person instruction. However, under the state’s guidance they must increase Covid-19 testing for staff.