News Update

Five more counties move from purple to red tiers in state’s monitoring system

California’s Secretary of Health and Human Services, Dr. Mark Ghaly, announced Tuesday that five more counties have moved from the purple to the red tier on the state’s four-tiered, color-coded monitoring system: Alameda, Riverside, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo and Solano. Schools in counties in the red tier can open for in-person instruction after they have remained in that tier for two consecutive weeks. Nineteen counties are in the red tier.

This announcement brings the total number of counties in purple to 25 and includes 555 districts and 810 charter schools that educate more than 3.6 million public school students, not including private schools. Schools in the purple tier cannot reopen for in-person instruction unless they receive waivers for elementary students in grades K-6 or they adhere to strict guidance for small groups of students.

Meanwhile, Ghaly warned that many colleges have seen spikes in Covid-19 cases since students have returned, including San Diego State University. The spike caused San Diego County to exceed the purple case metrics for one week. However, a county must exceed the metrics for two consecutive weeks before it moves into a more restrictive tier, so it remained in the red tier, Ghaly said, during his noon news briefing. To help prevent the spread of Covid-19, he said families should take precautions when welcoming college students back home, such as wearing face masks, staying 6 feet apart and minimizing mixing.