Only 10 of state 58 counties remain in most restrictive level in state’s tracking system

As Covid-19 rates decrease throughout the state, only 10 of 58 counties remain in the purple tier of the state’s color-coded tracking system.

The 10 counties include 288 districts and 540 charter schools educating more than 2.1 million or about a third of the state’s public school students. The counts do not include private schools.

The purple tier is the most restrictive of the four tiers, meaning Covid-19 is widespread and schools cannot reopen unless they receive elementary waivers for students in grades TK-6 or adhere to strict guidance for small groups of students. The 10 counties in the purple tier are: Glenn, Imperial, Los Angeles, Madera, Mendocino, Monterey, San Bernardino, Sonoma, Tehama and Tulare.

Six counties moved from purple to red on Tuesday: Colusa, Kern, Kings, San Benito, Stanislaus and Sutter. Schools in these counties can reopen for in-person instruction if the counties remain in the red tier for 14 consecutive days.

Also on Tuesday, Alameda, Placer and Santa Clara counties moved from the red to the orange tier, and Sierra County moved from the orange tier to the yellow tier, said Dr. Mark Ghaly, Health and Human Services secretary, during a noon news briefing Tuesday. His report was the state’s weekly update on the counties in the state’s tracking system.

Schools in the orange and yellow tiers — where Covid-19 is considered to be moderate and minimal, respectively — can reopen for in-person instruction as long as they adhere to state guidance that includes physical distancing, mask-wearing and sanitizing. Counties and districts can impose stricter reopening requirements based on local conditions.