In the state of California, every county is assigned to a different tier determined by test positivity and adjusted case rate. Ranging from least to most extreme restrictions, there are four categories: yellow, orange, red, and purple. San Mateo County re-entered the purple tier after months in the orange/red zone, shortly after Thanksgiving, which meant enforcing the state’s most restrictive policies in order to reduce the rise of COVID-19 cases. State representatives and leaders are now stating that it is necessary to have the county back in the purple tier based on the latest coronavirus data. This decision is clarified with the recent news that San Mateo County recorded over 2,628 new cases since November 22.
Upon hearing this information, San Mateo County Board of Supervisors member, David Canepa stated, “It wasn’t totally unexpected but it’s a total bummer.” This comes after the San Mateo health department reported an 85% spike in new COVID-19 cases from October to November. As of November 28, the county’s new adjusted case rate is 7.6 per 100,000 population. Canepa continued, “We need to make sure we’re still doing the things we’ve been doing, wearing the mask, social distance and washing our hands”.
Like the majority of California counties, San Mateo County now has a curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. through December 21. This curfew does not affect people traveling to or from work, or performing other essential activities such as grocery shopping, food delivery and dog-walking.
Other purple tier restrictions allow only gyms, churches and movie theaters to operate strictly outdoors and retail stores are reduced to 25% capacity. Many small business owners report that they will likely see a loss in profits, having to cut hours and staff due to the curfew and new restrictions. On the other hand, medical professionals believe that this curfew will help curb case numbers. However, there are still some business owners that remain optimistic. Garrett Greene, owner of Gator Games and Hobby in San Mateo, states that he does not think going to 25% capacity will cause a huge hit because most people are doing “destination shopping” rather than coming in for a “leisurely browse.”
From a student perspective, moving back to the purple tier significantly reduces the likelihood that the SMUHSD board’s current plan to re-open school campuses for in-person instruction will be implemented. In a November 30 press release by the San Mateo County of Education (SMCOE), they listed the remaining options for school’s to return under the current restrictions. The SMCOE determined that all schools that that had already returned students to campus for in-person instruction could continue to operate under their plan, but, if an individual school had not yet begun implementing its plan for returning to in-person instruction, it had to pause until the county was in the Red Tier unless it was eligible to apply for a waiver. On top of this, schools that had not yet returned students to campus for in-person instruction could apply for a waiver, but only to bring back students in grades TK-6 only, but all schools could return small groups of students to campus for limited instruction, academic and social emotional support, or other small group activities
But, as San Mateo County Manager Mike Callagy advises, “We have not seen numbers like this in quite a while and we really need to reverse this incredibly troubling trend. What’s important to remember is that we can reverse the trend as long as we follow common-sense health and safety practices.” By remembering to follow safety guidelines including wearing masks, we can safely lower the number of cases we see within our city and county.
