April 13, 2021 – Today’s update by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) confirms Nevada County not moving back to the most restrictive purple tier. Instead, thanks to a decrease in daily cases (8.1 per 100K residents) the county stays in the Red Tier of the Blueprint for a Safer Economy.
According to CDPH, four counties are moving to a less restrictive tier, although local public health departments may implement policies that are more restrictive than the state. From Purple (widespread) to Red (substantial): Inyo. From Red (substantial) to Orange (moderate): Kern and Lake. From Orange (moderate) to Yellow (minimal): Lassen. No counties moved to a more restrictive tier. One county remains in the Purple (widespread) tier, 21 in the Red (substantial) tier, 33 in the Orange (moderate) tier and three are in the Yellow (minimal) tier.
The state’s Blueprint defines the Red Tier as Substantial Transmission, with 6.0–10.0 daily new cases (per 100k.) To advance to the Orange Tier, a county must have no more than 2.0–5.9 daily new cases (per 100k). The Yellow Tier, which is currently the least restrictive, is less than 2 daily new cases.
On June 15, 2021 the Blueprint system will be phased out and “all industries across the state can return to usual operations with common-sense risk reduction measures such as masking and vaccinations.” [source: CDPH]
Immunization progress
Immunizations are proceeding for everyone aged 50 and over at all participating providers. Nevada County Public Health opened up vaccine eligibility to everyone 16 and older at their Public Health clinic on April 1, ahead of the April 15 statewide deadline.
According to the CDC, 22,588 Nevada County residents are now fully vaccinated, representing 22.6% of the total population. Seniors 65 and up make up the majority of fully vaccinated people, with 14,178 seniors fully vaccinated – 50.1% of the senior population.