At the current rate of COVID-19 transmission, L.A. County could meet the qualifications for the less restrictive “orange” reopening tier in early April.

The adjusted case rate for L.A. County is 3.7 positive cases per 100,000 residents, which would meet the state’s requirement of less than 4 per 100,000.

The county has been recording lower 7-day case rates since last week, but must stay in the current “red” tier for a minimum of three weeks before being eligible to move down from the red tier.

“If the County continues to maintain current levels or declines in the case rate and test positivity rate, it is possible in early April for the County to move into the orange tier,” L.A. Public Health said in a news release. “The County needs to remain in the red tier for three weeks prior to be assigned to the orange tier.”

Santa Clara, San Francisco, Marin, Lassen, Trinity and Yolo counties all moved into the orange tier of reopening, Tuesday, and will have the opportunity to reopen bars, operate casinos indoors, and increase capacity in amusement parks, stadiums, gyms and movie theaters.

The orange tier also allows offices, which have been advised to close completely since the start of the pandemic, to reopen with modifications.

Wineries, breweries and distilleries are also allowed to operate indoors as opposed to the outdoor orders in the purple and red tiers.

L.A County reached the red tier on March 15, which qualified them to reopen theme parks, stadiums, grade schools and indoor dining, all with modifications.

L.A. recorded 490 single-day cases of COVID-19 Tuesday and the positivity rate has dropped from 2% to 1.8%. There are currently 713 people hospitalized with complications due to COVID-19 and 66 single-day COVID-19 related deaths.

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