Press Release March 12, 2021: Mono County moved to less restrictive Red Tier 2.

Good News for Mono County!! Moving from Purple Tier to Red Tier on Sunday!

Effective Sunday, March 14, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) will reassign Mono County to the less restrictive Tier 2, Substantial (Red), of the Blueprint for a Safer Economy (Blueprint), the State’s “stringent and slow plan for living with COVID-19 (Coronavirus).” The Blueprint consists of 4 Tiers which rank a County’s current infection rate and dictates the level of
allowable operations within various business sectors. Moving to the Red Tier means that more indoor activities will be permitted, at modest levels.

The efforts to slow and contain the spread of COVID-19 through solid public heath actions and our robust vaccination plan has resulted in Mono County exceeding the standards required to move to the Red Tier under the modified Blueprint, effective Sunday, March 14. Advancement to the Red Tier was a result of Mono County remaining below the new modified threshold of 10 cases per 100,000 people per day for over two weeks for the week ending February 27, 2021.

On March 4,  the State made it a little easier for counties to move from the Purple (Widespread) to Red (Substantial) Tier because of progress achieved in vaccinating people in the State’s hardest-hit communities, increasing immunity where the state’s transmission rates and disease burden have been the highest during the pandemic (Vaccine Equity Metric).

On Friday, March 12, the state announced that it achieved the 2 million dose vaccine equity goal to shift the Purple Tier threshold to 10 cases per 100,000, and the Red Tier was widened to 4- 10 cases per 100,000. Once 4 million residents are vaccinated in those impacted communities, the State will adjust the threshold to enter the Orange and Yellow Tiers.

Review the Statewide Vaccine Equity Metric Goals and revised Blueprint Framework.

Dr. Tom Boo, Mono County Public Health Officer

“It has been an extremely difficult year for most, and really tough for a lot of businesses, who have made a lot of sacrifices to help keep their staff, our community and our visitors safe. I am gratified that we have made sufficient progress against COVID-19 to allow more indoor activities and hope this proves valuable to our business operators and their staffs, as well as the public. But I urge everyone to recognize that COVID-19 is not gone, that it remains a risk, and in order to keep making progress we must keep vaccinating and keep being careful,” stated Dr. Tom Boo, Mono County Public Health Officer. “Moving to the Red tier is an important milestone and cause of optimism. The chances are indeed good
that 2021 will prove a far better year than 2020.”

Summary Status of Mono County Business Sector Operations (1) (Effective March 14) Movement from Tier 1, Widespread (Purple) to Tier 2, Substantial (Red) maintains capacity limits to several Activity and Business Tiers. To view tier level descriptions, statewide county rankings, and what activities are allowable in Mono County, please visit covid19.ca.gov, view the sector summary status below or visit the updated Activity and Business Tier Framework: https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/CDPH%20Document%20Library/COVID-19/Dimmer-Framework-September_2020.pdf.

Open Indoors with Modifications* (based on Industry Guidance found at https://covid19.ca.gov/industry-guidance/):
• Critical Infrastructure – Open with modifications
• Hair Salons and Barbershops – Open indoors with modifications
• Personal Care Services – Open indoors with modifications
• All Retail – Open indoors with modifications – Max. 50% of capacity
• Restaurants – Open indoors with modifications – Max. 25% of capacity, or 100 people, whichever is fewer
• Bars, Breweries and Distilleries – Meal is provided – Open with Restaurant modifications and capacity limits. No meal provided – Closed
• Museums – Open indoors with modifications – Max. 25% of capacity
• Places of Worship – Open indoors with modifications – Max. 25% of capacity, or 100 people, whichever is fewer
• Movie Theaters – Open indoors with modifications – Max. 25% of capacity, or 100 people, whichever is fewer
• Hotels and Lodging – Can Open Fitness Centers – 10% of capacity. Indoor Pools Closed. Outdoor spas and pools open with modifications. Town Lodging Order rescinded March 11, 2021
• Gyms and Fitness Centers – Max 10% of capacity. Indoor Pools Closed
• Family Entertainment Centers (including Bowling Alleys & Climbing Walls). Outdoor Only with modifications.

*County Health Orders supersede State guidelines when and if they are stricter than the State. Business operators are required to adhere to current County Health Officer Orders and Interim Business Guidelines published under ‘Directives’ online: MonoHealth.com/Coronavirus.

All Mono County residents and visitors are asked to do their part to #StaySafeToStayOpen. To do this, the COVID-19 Unified Command Emergency Operations Center continues to emphasize the value and importance of continued weekly surveillance testing for asymptomatic individuals. In addition, all Mono County residents who want to be immunized need to pre-register for vaccination on MyTurn, regardless of whether you are immediately eligible. Second homeowners and visitors are currently not eligible to receive the vaccine in Mono County.

Additional information regarding the Blueprint for a Safer Economy is available online:
https://covid19.ca.gov/roadmap-counties/ or by visiting the Mono County COVID-19 Portal in English: MonoHealth.com/Coronavirus or Spanish: https://monohealth.com/coronavirus-es.

Cover. Distance. Wash and #StaySafeToStayOpen #VaccinateMono