#Breaking

Riverside County is on track to move into the more permissive red tier of the state’s reopening plan on Tuesday, state public health officials said Friday.

“We welcome these loosening restrictions on our businesses and urge everyone to practice the necessary safety precautions,” said Karen Spiegel, chair of the Riverside County Board of Supervisors in a March 12 statement.

Once Riverside County makes the move to the red tier, movie theaters and churches can reopen at 25% capacity or up to 100 people, whichever is fewer. Gyms and dance and yoga studios can open at 10% capacity. Museums, zoos, and aquariums can open indoor activities at 25% capacity. Indoor malls and libraries can open at 50% capacity.

Primary and secondary schools are allowed to fully reopen for in-person instruction, based on the state’s guidance for K-12 schools.

The state is lowering the threshold for counties to reopen after reaching its equity goal. The California Department of Public Health, CDPH, announced Friday that the state has administered 2 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to communities with the highest transmission rates and disease complications during the pandemic.

Riverside county is set to move from the most-restrictive purple tier to the less restrictive red tier of the state’s “Blueprint for a Safer Economy” on Tuesday, according to CDPH. The state agency said based on a reassessment using new thresholds and current data projections San Diego, Kings, Lake, Monterey, Riverside, San Joaquin, Santa Barbara, Sutter, Tehama, Tulare, Ventura, and Yuba are also expected to make the shift.

Neighboring San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Orange Counties transitioned to the less restrictive red tier Sunday, March 14.

The purple tier threshold will shift from greater than seven cases per 100,000 to greater than 10 cases per 100,000, and the red tier will be widened to four to 10 cases per 100,000, said CDPH in a statement. The state eased restrictions after increasing inoculation in “hardest-hit communities,” a plan first announced by Governor Gavin Newsom (D) on March 4.