Lifting coronavirus restrictions: what's opening in ca this week

CALIFORNIA — After crossing a key vaccine threshold on Friday, many Californians will be able to enjoy indoor pastimes that have been shuttered for months this week as the state begins to

lift restrictions in some 13 counties in the state beginning Sunday. Thirteen counties, including Los Angeles, will be eligible to move out of the state's most restrictive tier by

Sunday, allowing businesses that have faced months-long closure to finally reopen. Another 13 counties are expected to move out of restrictive tiers by Wednesday under the state's

reopening blueprint. Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that the state would set aside 40 percent of vaccine doses for the most vulnerable populations in some 400 ZIP codes. After 2

million doses were administered to these communities, officials said they would relax the requirements to exit the most restrictive purple tier on the state's reopening plan. California

crossed that milestone on Friday. FIND OUT WHAT'S HAPPENING IN ACROSS CALIFORNIAFOR FREE WITH THE LATEST UPDATES FROM PATCH. "Focusing on the individuals who have been hardest hit

by this pandemic is the right thing to do and also ensures we are having the greatest impact in reducing transmission, protecting our health care delivery system and saving lives," Dr.

Mark Ghaly, the state's health secretary said in a Friday statement. Before Friday, counties could move from the purple tier to the lower red tier based on metrics that include the

number of new coronavirus cases per 100,000 people per day over a period of several weeks. The threshold for entering the red tier has moved from 7 to 10 cases per 100,000 residents. FIND

OUT WHAT'S HAPPENING IN ACROSS CALIFORNIAFOR FREE WITH THE LATEST UPDATES FROM PATCH. The news that Los Angeles would finally be able to break free from the most restrictive tier marks

a significant milestone for the Golden State as the county has been dubbed California's coronavirus epicenter. LA County officials, however, said they would wait until Monday to reopen.

As some counties begin the process of reopening this week, the state will also expand its vaccine eligibility to some 4.4 million Californians. Those aged 15-64 with disabilities and

certain health conditions will become eligible to receive vaccine Monday as the state still grapples with dosage scarcity. The state will also expand eligibility to transit workers and

residents and workers of homeless shelters, jails and detention centers. "While we have reached a milestone today, we still have a lot of work ahead of us to help ensure we can put an

end to this pandemic," said Tomás Aragón, CDPH Director and State Public Health Officer. _Here's what you need to know._ WHICH COUNTIES ARE REOPENING THIS WEEK? Beginning Sunday,

the following counties will be eligible to reopen: * Contra Costa County * Sonoma County * Mendocino County * *Los Angeles County * Mono County * Tuolumne County * San Bernardino County *

Orange County * Placer County * Amador County * Siskiyou County * Colusa County * San Benito County *LA County officials said they would wait until Monday to reopen. On Tuesday, the

following counties are expected to reopen after the state updates its Blueprint for a Safer Economy reopening plan, according to the California Department of Public Health: * San Diego

County * Riverside County * Kings County * Lake County * Monterey County * Sacramento County * Riverside County * Ventura County * San Joaquin County * Tehama County * Yuba County * Sutter

County * Santa Barbara County WHAT WILL BE ABLE TO REOPEN THIS WEEK IN THESE COUNTIES? * Shopping centers (50 percent capacity, closed common areas and reduced capacity food courts). *

Indoor dining (25 percent capacity). * Fitness centers (10 percent capacity). * Places of worship (25 percent capacity or 100 people, whichever is lower). * Nail salons. * Massage

facilities. * Museums (25 percent capacity). * Zoos (25 percent capacity). * Aquariums (25 percent capacity). * Movie theaters (25 percent capacity or 100 people, whichever is lower). WHEN

WILL THE STATE'S VACCINE SUPPLY IMPROVE? As the state continues to reopen counties at a rapid rate, vaccinations are on the rise but the state is still suffering from a major scarcity

issue. California was slated to begin receiving some 320,000 doses of the newly approved Johnson & Johnson single-shot vaccine weekly. Last week, a shipment "likely arrived" on

Monday and Tuesday to various providers around the state, a spokesperson from the California Department of Public Health told Patch on the condition of anonymity. "All counties have

been allocated vaccines from J&J alongside Moderna and Pfizer," the spokesperson said. "They continue to allocate them to providers within their geography." But Newsom

said on Wednesday that the next few weeks would remain scarce in terms of access to vaccines, according to the Los Angeles Times. Once access to the J&J vaccine improves, Newsom has said

supply issues would improve by late March or early April. "I'm very confident with [Johnson & Johnson], at the end of March, April, we're going to start seeing things

really ramp up," Newsom has said. "May, June, July: game changer. All of a sudden we're at a completely different level." Last week, President Joe Biden announced a plan

to expand access to coronavirus vaccines to all adults by May 1. "With President Biden’s announcement, the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter. We share the President’s

commitment to ensuring all adults who want a vaccine can get one," Newsom said in a statement. "In these phases of limited vaccine supply, we have been guided by equity and

prioritized those most exposed and most at risk—both the right thing to do, and the fastest way to end the pandemic." ------------------------- READ MORE: HOW TO GET THE CORONAVIRUS

VACCINE IN CALIFORNIA ------------------------- CALIFORNIA CORONAVIRUS DATA AS OF SATURDAY: * California reported 3,523,563 cases on Saturday. * There were 3,230 newly recorded cases Friday.

* The 7-day positivity rate is 2.1 percent. * There have been 50,889,509 tests conducted in California. * There have been 55,095 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic. * More than

11,418,507 vaccine doses have been administered statewide. ------------------------- __The Associated Press contributed to this report. Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox.

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