More than nine in 10 Californians will wake up Tuesday to a new round of pandemic restrictions affecting their day-to-day life, thanks to a sweeping move backward by Gov. Gavin Newsom as he attempts to quell the state’s fastest-growing COVID-19 surge yet.
The state had been progressing along Newsom’s color-coded reopening plan, and Bay Area counties were gradually allowing customers back to restaurants’ indoor dining rooms, indoor gyms, offices and more. But over the past week, several counties announced plans to scale back. And on Monday, 24 hours ahead of schedule, Newsom forced even more closures and restrictions by moving most of the Bay Area back into his most restrictive purple tier.
It amounted to lot of shakeup in a little time. We’re here to guide you through it.
Who’s affected by the rollbacks?
Not every county in the state reverted to the purple tier, but nearly all of them moved backward. Throughout California, 41 of the state’s 58 counties now are in the most restrictive purple tier — up from 13 last week.
In the Bay Area, only three counties are not subject to the most severe restrictions: San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin. But each of those counties moved into the red “substantial” risk tier.
Can I still go to restaurants?
Most everywhere in California, diners will no longer be served indoors. Restaurants will be limited once again to outdoor and takeout service only in all but the handful of counties not in the purple tier.
That means restaurants that had just recently opened their indoor dining rooms — Alameda County, for example, allowed indoor dining Oct. 23 — will have to close them again. San Francisco, Santa Clara, Contra Costa and Marin counties already announced plans to stop indoor dining last week. For now, San Mateo County is the only place in the Bay Area where you can dine inside. But as it moves from the orange tier to the more restrictive red tier, the county has to shutter all bars, breweries and distilleries that don’t serve food. Wineries, which had been allowed to serve guests inside, will go back to outdoor seating only.
Does this mean my kids’ school will close again?
No. If they were attending in-person classes before Tuesday, they can continue doing so. But if your kids attend a school in Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara, Napa or Santa Cruz counties that was planning to start bringing students back to campus in the next few weeks, you’ll have to wait a little while longer.
Counties must be in the red tier for at least 14 days before they can reopen schools for in-person instruction. Classrooms that started offering in-person lessons while in the red tier may continue to do so even if they have moved back into the purple tier. If a school was in the process of a phased reopening when it moved back into the purple tier (say ninth and 10th graders had started classes but 11th and 12th graders hadn’t) it can continue to phase in more students as scheduled.
The state also allows elementary schools in counties that have not reached the red tier to apply for waivers that would allow them to open in-person classes, as long as local health officials sign off. But some counties, including Alameda, are not allowing those waivers.
What else is different?
Under Newsom’s new orders, the few offices that had reopened in the Bay Area will go back to remote work. San Francisco, for example, had just opened non-essential offices at 25% capacity on Oct. 27. Those will need to close.
Fitness centers in San Francisco, San Mateo and other red-tier counties must reduce their indoor capacity to 10%, down from 25%. In the rest of the Bay Area, gyms and fitness centers are back to outdoor operations only. The same goes for movie theaters and places of worship.
Retail stores, including shopping malls, can remain open — but throughout most of the Bay Area, they must operate at 25% capacity. In San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin counties, they can hit 50%.
Indoor hair salons and other personal care services can remain open with safety precautions in place.
When does all this go into effect?
Unlike Newsom’s prior orders, which have come with a 72-hour waiting period, the latest changes are effective Tuesday.
Is there new guidance on face masks?
In announcing these rollbacks Monday, Newsom also strengthened the state’s mask rules. He specified wearing a face mask is mandatory at all times when outside the home, with a few exceptions, such as during socially distant eating and drinking.
Since June, Californians have been required to wear a cloth face mask or other face covering while in certain public, high-traffic places. That includes while waiting for or riding public transit, inside or in line to enter any business or indoor public space, or while obtaining health services. The new rules are more strict. And while you’re not required to wear a mask if you’re outside and at least 6 feet away from people not within your household, you must carry a mask with you at all times and put it on if that 6-foot gap closes.
What about Thanksgiving?
If you travel out of state for the holiday, California officials recommend you self-quarantine for 14 days when you get back. And while you’re encouraged to stay home this Turkey Day, if you do attend a gathering, health officials ask you to keep it short, wear a mask and remain outdoors.
I thought things were getting better. Why are we doing this?
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases is growing faster now than it was during July’s peak, prompting Newsom to call for swift, immediate action. As of Monday, more than 1 million COVID cases have been confirmed across California, and the virus has killed more than 18,200 people. In the past two weeks, the average number of cases reported each day has nearly doubled and the number of patients hospitalized statewide has increased by nearly 50%. The percentage of COVID-19 tests returning positive results also has increased from 3.2% to 4.6% over the past two weeks, according to state data.
What will it take to move forward again?
The simple answer: contain the virus and reduce case rates. Newsom’s office has promised the state will reassess COVID data “continuously.”
Staff writer Maggie Angst contributed.
