On Monday, Governor Gavin Newsom said that 41 counties are now in purple which includes Contra Costa County and that he was considering a possible statewide curfew.  Newsom said he was pulling an “emergency break” on reopening.

Regarding the curfew, Newsom said was looking at studies.

“We are also considering, full disclosure and a little bit of a preview, the notion of a curfew,” stated Newsom. “Now before you jump into the mindset of whether that is a good idea or a bad idea. We are assessing that as well.”

Newsom said he had three studies on his desk from France, Germany, and Saudi Arabia who have done studies on their strategies on curfews. Newsom said two states in the United States have curfews which are Massachusetts and Virginia along with large and small cities that also are promoting certain curfews.

“All of that is being accessed, we want to socialize that and there are a lot of questions on what it looks like, who it impacts, what does a real curfew mean for business and industry,” said Newsom. “We really want the data.”

NOTE Understand which activities and businesses are open in the four tiers (PDF)

New actions include pulling an emergency brake in the Blueprint for a Safer Economy and strengthening face covering mandate

Vast majority of counties are in the most restrictive tier starting tomorrow

SACRAMENTO – As COVID-19 cases sharply increase across the country and California, Governor Gavin Newsom and state public health officials announced immediate actions today to slow the spread of the virus. The state is pulling an emergency brake in the Blueprint for a Safer Economy resulting in 94.1 percent of California’s population in the most restrictive tier. This change is effective tomorrow. The state will reassess data continuously and move more counties back if necessary. California is also strengthening its face covering guidance to require individuals to wear a mask whenever outside their home, with limited exceptions.

“We are sounding the alarm,” said Governor Newsom. “California is experiencing the fastest increase in cases we have seen yet –faster than what we experienced at the outset of the pandemic or even this summer. The spread of COVID-19, if left unchecked, could quickly overwhelm our health care system and lead to catastrophic outcomes. That is why we are pulling an emergency brake in the Blueprint for a Safer Economy. Now is the time to do all we can – government at all levels and Californians across the state – to flatten the curve again as we have done before.”

The rate of growth in confirmed COVID-19 cases is faster than it was in July, which led to a significant peak in cases. This requires a swift public health response and action from all Californians to slow the spread of the virus. Immediate action will help protect individuals at higher risk of severe illness or death from COVID-19 and will help keep the state’s health care delivery system from becoming overwhelmed.

“The data we are seeing is very concerning. We are in the midst of a surge, and time is of the essence. Every day matters and every decision matters,” said California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly. “Personal decisions are critical, and I am I imploring every Californian to stay home if they can, wear a mask whenever they leave their homes, limit mixing, practice physical distancing and wash their hands.”

The 28 counties moving back into Tier 1(Purple/Widespread) include:

The nine counties moving back into Tier 2 (Red/Substantial) include:

The two counties moving back into Tier 3 (Orange/Moderate) include:

Today’s action will remain in effect until the State Public Health Officer determines it is appropriate to make modifications based on public health conditions and data.

California has taken steps to prepare the state for an increase in COVID-19 cases. The state has developed additional testing capacity to allow cases to be quickly identified, recently opening a new laboratory in Valencia that is already processing thousands of tests a day. The state is averaging 164,345 tests over the last seven days.

The state has been working in partnership with hospitals, clinics and physicians on the COVID-19 response. To support California’s health care delivery system, the state has an additional 1,872 beds available at alternate care sites outside of the system that can be made available quickly if needed to respond to a surge in cases.

California will continue to update the Blueprint for a Safer Economy based on the best available public health data and science. For more information about the Blueprint and what Californians can do to prevent the spread of COVID-19, visit covid19.ca.gov.

State Updates as of 11/16/2020:

• In light of the recent, unprecedented surge in rate of increase of cases, notwithstanding the Blueprint framework outlined below, the following changes are effective until further notice:
  • Tier assignments may occur any day of the week and may occur more than once a week when CDPH determines that the most recent reliable data indicate that immediate action is needed to address COVID-19 transmission in a county.
  • Counties may be moved back more than one tier if CDPH determines that the data support the more intensive intervention. Key considerations will include the rate of increase in new cases and/or test positivity, more recent data as noted below, public health capacity, and other epidemiological factors.
  • The most recent reliable data will be used to complete the assessment.
  • In light of the extreme circumstances requiring immediate action, counties will be required to implement any sector changes the day following the tier announcement.
• The California Blueprint Data Chart (Excel) has been updated to show county tier status, date of tier assignment, adjusted case rate for tier assignment, and countywide testing positivity.
• County requests for tier adjudication will not hold the county in the current tier during adjudication, and given the current environment of rapidly escalating cases and widespread disease transmission across California, tier adjudication requests are unlikely to be approved unless unique, extreme circumstances and data are submitted justifying how the county is not impacted by the statewide increases.