San Diego County moved into California's least restrictive "yellow tier" Wednesday, following two consecutive weeks of an adjusted new daily COVID-19 case rate of fewer than two cases per 100,000 residents.
The county moved into the yellow tier just six days before the state scraps the tiered reopening blueprint, on Tuesday, joining other urban counties such as Los Angeles, San Francisco and Orange.
As of Tuesday, the county's new adjusted case rate is 1.2 cases per 100,000 people after declining to a case rate of 1.7 cases last week. The yellow tier means there is minimal spread of COVID-19 in the region.
In the yellow tier, outdoor music venues can increase to 67% capacity, restaurants and gyms can be at 50% capacity — indoor and outdoor — indoor bars can be at 25% or 100 people, whichever is fewer, and outdoor gatherings can expand to 200 people.
A full list of what limits will be lifted after the descent into the yellow tier for that one week can be found at covid19.ca.gov/safer- economy.
When California fully reopens the economy on Tuesday, the state will move beyond the Blueprint for a Safer Economy — the system of tiers the state has employed since last year. There will be no capacity restrictions or social distancing enforced at almost all locations, and only "mega events" — with crowds larger than 5,000 people indoors or 10,000 outdoors — will require or recommend vaccine verification.
On Wednesday, the county reported 62 new COVID-19 infections and one death, bringing the cumulative case total to 280,940, while the death toll increased to 3,765.
A man in his 60s with underlying medical conditions died Monday.
A total of 11,385 tests were reported by the county on Wednesday, with 0.5% returning positive. The 14-day rolling average percentage of positive cases is 0.8%.
Two new community outbreaks were reported Wednesday, one in a business setting and one in a school setting.
As of Wednesday, more than 1.7 million San Diego County residents — 60.1% of residents 12 and older — were fully vaccinated and more than 2.08 million residents have received one of two doses.
More than 4.21 million doses have been received by the county, with more than 3.82 million administered.
A full list of available vaccination sites can be found on the county's website.
