San Francisco and Santa Clara counties will soon be the next California counties to move to the orange reopening level, further easing restrictions on more businesses.
The orange level changes are expected to take effect as early as Wednesday.
“San Francisco health indicators continue to improve with COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are steadily falling,” the San Francisco COVID Command Center said in a statement.
COVID Command Center officials warned residents that while the decline in coronavirus cases is encouraging, variants remain a concern.
“San Francisco continues to take health precautions as it reopens. We align ourselves with state guidelines as much as possible, but we will add specific safeguards to minimize the risk of the virus spreading. Our focus remains focused on expansion of outdoor activities as much as possible as a safer environment than indoors, ”officials said in a statement.
Meanwhile, a Santa Clara County spokesman told NBC Bay Area on Sunday that his county released orange-level numbers last week and that if the numbers remain in that range until Tuesday, the county would move to the orange category on Wednesday. .
At the orange level, offices can reopen for face-to-face working hours of up to 25% capacity and maintaining 25% capacity in conference and meeting rooms.
Other new rules include museums, zoos and aquariums that open up to 50% capacity indoors, movie theaters can reopen with a capacity of less than 50% or 200 people, and malls can expand to at 50%.
When the move takes place, San Francisco and Santa Clara will join San Mateo as the second and third counties in the Bay Area to move to the orange level.
All other counties in the Bay Area are currently at the red level.