Alameda County is expected to move from the purple level to the less restrictive red level, or Level 2, as early as Tuesday of next week if the cases of COVID-19 and positivity rates remain low. As a result, Berkeley may lift some state restrictions on domestic business activities.
The last time Berkeley switched to the red level with Alameda County was in September 2020, three months before ICU capacities fell across the state and the city went through a strict regional request for shelter there.
Positivity rates in the city are lower than in September 2020 and a vaccination campaign is underway with thousands of essential workers, the elderly, food industry workers and teachers being vaccinated against the virus. As of last week, more than 13,000 people had received the COVID-19 vaccine in Berkeley, according to the city.
The red level, or Level 2, means that there is a “substantial” risk of COVID-19 in a given county, with four to seven new cases per 100,000 residents daily and between 5 to 8% of tests positive. Berkeley can only move to the red level when Alameda County as a whole meets these requirements, but the Berkeley Department of Public Health makes its own decisions about imposing additional restrictions on state rules.
Matthai Chakko, a city spokesman, said on Wednesday that the city will align itself with the state in the reopening of businesses when Alameda County changes to the red level. Berkeley currently has a test positivity rate of 0.47% compared to Alameda County’s 2.40% positivity rate, and the seven-day adjusted case rate per 100,000 residents is currently at 6.30 cases . These numbers make the county eligible to switch to the red level if they can be maintained for another week.
The following activities would be allowed in closed environments with a capacity of 25% or 100 people (whichever is less):
- Dinner
- Museums and aquariums
- Movie theaters
- Cultural ceremonies
- Dance academies and studios (with 10% capacity)
- Retail (50% capacity)
Companies without a mandatory capacity limit in the red layer, such as supermarkets (which currently operate at 50% capacity in the purple layer), still need to follow the guidelines of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to allow space for social distance between the clients.
Schools in all grades will be allowed to open, but are still subject to health and safety guidance from the Alameda County Office of Education, limiting campus capacities and negotiations between the Berkeley Unified School District and the Federation of Teachers of Berkeley.
Santa Clara, San Mateo, San Francisco, Marin and Napa counties are currently at the red level and have opened additional internal activities according to state rules. Level assignments for each county in the state are available on the state website on an interactive map.
The layer assignments on March 2 show most of the state in the purple layer, with some counties in the Bay Area, such as San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara in the red layer. Photo: State Project for Reopening