Coronavirus updates for week of Sept. 21: 2 North State counties holding at orange level in state's tracking list

Shasta, Siskiyou holding at orange level 

Monday, Sept. 21

More than three weeks into the state's "Blueprint for a Safer Economy" reopening plan, Siskiyou and Shasta counties' outbreak are holding steady at moderate levels.

Nonetheless, neither county met the requirements to move into the least restrictive of California's color-code, four-tier system, according to the latest weekly assessment, announced Tuesday by state public health. 

The state uses case and testing rates to determine which tier a county is in. The case rate is the number of new cases per 100,000 residents during a seven-day average. The testing rate is the number of coronavirus tests coming back positive.

Counties need to remain in a tier for a minimum of three weeks before they're allowed to advance to a later tier, even if their numbers qualify. 

To reach the lowest or "minimal" outbreak level, which is the yellow tier, a county must have fewer than one new case per 100,000 residents per day, according to the California Department of Public Health at https://bit.ly/32QV7ku. Positive test rates must be under 2% a day.

The most restrictive tier for business activity is purple. Red, orange and yellow allow more businesses to open with capacity restrictions in place.

Daily case rates at the orange tier, which Shasta and Siskiyou counties are in, are between one and 1-3.9 new cases per 100,000 residents. The positivity rate is between 2% and 4.9%.

CDPH officials assess counties' results weekly on Mondays. They announce updates to tier assignments on Tuesdays.

At orange level, the following businesses can open with restrictions, according to Siskiyou Public Health officials: 

• Dine-in restaurants, with modifications, at maximum 50% capacity or 200 people, whichever is fewer.
• Places of worship, with modifications, at maximum 50% capacity or 200 people, whichever is fewer.
• Personal Care Services, with modifications. these include hair and nail salons, and barbershops.
• Gyms and fitness centers, with modifications, maximum 25% capacity and indoor pools.
• Wineries and tasting rooms, with indoor modifications, max 25% capacity indoors or 100 people, whichever is fewer.
• Movie Theaters, with modifications, at maximum 50% capacity or 200 people, whichever is fewer.
• Family entertainment facilities like bowling alleys, mini-golf, batting cages and arcades can open indoors for naturally distanced activities, maximum 25% capacity.
• Museums, with modifications, indoor maximum 50% capacity.
• Cardrooms, with modifications, at maximum 25% capacity.
• Bars, brew pubs and breweries where no meals are provided, outdoor only with modifications

Read more about the state's "Blueprint for a Safer Economy" re-opening plan at https://covid19.ca.gov/safer-economy/

COVID-19 case counts by county

8:45 a.m. Monday, Sept. 21

Here's where COVID-19 case totals stood in far Northern California, according to the most recent reports from each county's public health department.

• Butte County, 2688
• Shasta County, 668
• Glenn County, 550
• Colusa County, 509
• Tehama County, 489
• Siskiyou County, 161
• Lassen County, 94 in the general population and 636 in its state prisons
• Plumas County, 49
• Modoc County, 24
• Trinity County, 15

Coastal counties:

• Mendocino, 851
• Humboldt, 482
• Del Norte, 136

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COVID-19 in California

8:50 a.m. Monday, Sept. 21

Here's the most recent statewide COVID-19 count, tabulated by state health officials since March 19, 2020:

• Confirmed cases in California: 778,400
• Deaths: 14,987
• Hospitalizations from confirmed cases: 2,607
• Hospitalizations from suspected cases: 834
• Cases, age 0-17: 80,069
• Cases, age 18-49: 466,993
• Cases, age 50-64: 147,049
• Cases, age 65+: 83,379
• Age unknown/missing: 910
• Health workers infected: 37,082
• Health workers who have died: 178

COVID-19 in the U.S and the world

8:35 a.m. Monday, Sept. 21

Here's the caseload nationwide and worldwide, as reported by Johns Hopkins University:

• U.S. cases: 6.8 million
• U.S. deaths: 199,531
• Global cases: 31.1 million
• Global deaths: 961,544

Jessica Skropanic is a features reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. She covers science, arts, social issues and entertainment stories. Follow her on Twitter @RS_JSkropanic and on Facebook. Join Jessica in the Get Out! Nor Cal recreation Facebook group. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. Thank you.