California’s regional stay-at-home order was lifted by state officials Monday, as COVID-19 restrictions will return to a county-by-county system, according to the Associated Press.
Since Dec. 6, 2020, the state used a regional system that triggered stricter orders based on decreasing ICU capacity. San Francisco County fell under the “Bay Area Region” and faced the same orders that prohibited in-person dining and put capacity limits on retail stores.
The previous state order also applied a 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew on non-essential businesses that will now be lifted.
“Together, we changed our activities knowing our short-term sacrifices would lead to longer-term gains. COVID-19 is still here and still deadly, so our work is not over, but it’s important to recognize our collective actions saved lives and we are turning a critical corner,” Dr. Tomas Aragon, the state’s public health director, said in a statement to AP.
The state will go back to its color-coded system, where San Francisco County was still at the most restrictive “Purple tier,” but had lesser restrictions on businesses than the regional order.
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