Sacramento County Health Order for Red Tier

Article Date: Tuesday, March 16, 2021

This week the State announced that Sacramento County is allowed to move from the most restrictive Purple/Widespread Tier 1 to the less restrictive tier of Red/Substantial Tier 2 per the State’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy. Sacramento County Public Health has issued the March 16, 2021, Health Order to reflect the move to the Red Tier. The summary of changes are:

In alignment with Red Tier 2, the following sectors are permitted for OUTDOOR operations only. These sectors must still maintain mitigation measures (social distancing, face covering, and sanitization):
- Cardrooms, satellite wagering
- Family Entertainment Centers (e.g. bowling alleys, miniature golf, batting cages, kart racing, skating rinks, and arcades)
- Playgrounds, dog parks, skate parks, and recreational facilities
- Wineries, breweries, and distilleries (with reservations, 90-minute time limit, table seating, onsite consumption closed by 8 p.m.)

*Bars and pubs may operate indoors (maximum 25% capacity or 100 people, whichever is fewer) if they are offering sit-down meals, otherwise they remain closed.

In alignment with Red Tier 2, the following sectors are open for INDOOR operations. These sectors must still maintain mitigation measures (social distancing, face covering, and sanitization) and specific modifications in parenthesis below:
- All retail (maximum 50% capacity; grocery stores 100% capacity)
- Critical infrastructure
- Entertainment production, studios, broadcast
- Gyms and fitness centers (maximum 10% capacity + climbing walls)
- Hair salons and barbershops
- Hotels and lodging (fitness centers maximum 10% capacity)
- Libraries (maximum 50% capacity)
- Movie theaters (maximum 25% capacity or 100 people, whichever is fewer)
- Museums, zoos, aquariums (indoor activities maximum 25% capacity)
- Nail salons and electrolysis operations
- Personal care services (e.g. body waxing, estheticians, tattoo, massage)
- Places of worship (maximum 25% capacity)
- Professional sports (without live audiences)
- Restaurants (maximum 25% capacity or 100 people, whichever is fewer)
- Shopping centers (e.g. malls, destination centers, swap meets) (maximum 50% capacity; closed common areas; food courts maximum 25% capacity or 100 people, whichever is fewer)

Review the Sector Guidance chart for Tiers.

Schools
In alignment with CDPH requirements, schools (all grade levels) may reopen for in-person instruction after publicly posting their COVID-19 Safety Plan.

Schools conducting in-person instruction must maintain mitigation measures, including social distancing, face coverings, and sanitization, in compliance with school guidance from CDPH and Sacramento County Public Health.

Recreation Sports
All organized youth and adult recreational sports, including school- and community-sponsored programs, and privately-organized clubs and leagues must abide by youth and adult sports guidance from CDPH and Sacramento County Public Health. Low-contact, moderate-contact and high-contact sports are permitted with adherence to the specific mitigation measures and requirements described in the aforementioned sports guidance. Inter-team competitions are permitted for allowable sports. Tournaments or competitions involving more than two teams are prohibited.

“Although we have decreasing case rates and are working to vaccinate those who live and work in Sacramento County, we must continue to adhere to the same public health measures to prevent a surge in COVID-19 cases – especially due to the variant strains that are more easily transmitted to others. This means that as some businesses have greater capacity to open, we must still limit our gatherings, maintain 6 feet distance and wear masks in public spaces.”
Sacramento County Health Officer, Dr. Olivia Kasirye

This order supersedes the March 12, 2021 Order of the Public Health Officer. This Order shall become effective immediately and will continue to be in effect until it is rescinded or amended in writing by the Health Officer.

State Criteria Update
The California Department of Public Health updated its Blueprint for a Safer Economy Tier criteria for case rate, test positivity, and health equity metric thresholds to move to less restrictive Tiers when it reached the 2 million vaccinations in the lowest Healthy Places Index quartile 1 goal, last week.

Update to Allowable Activities to State’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy – March 11