An updated Health Order was issued by the Health and Human Services Department, effective at 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, May 5 as the city of Long Beach enters the State’s Yellow Tier, the third of four tiers under the Blueprint for a Safer Economy.
“Thanks to our collective efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19, we can now move into the Yellow Tier,” Mayor Robert Garcia said in a press release. “We’re making tremendous progress and it’s important that we all continue to follow the safety measures to keep our community safe.”
Below is an overview of the revised health order, pursuant to guidance issued by the State:
Any business owners who want more information can call the City’s Bizcare Hotline at 562.570.4BIZ (4249) on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Business operating under the new health guidelines are required to understand the guidance and apply safety measures. All revisions to the health order can be found here.
The State’s tiered system is based on the number of new cases per day (per 100,000 residents), positivity rate and health equity metric.
Los Angeles County, which includes Long Beach, was until recently in the Orange Tier. In order to advance to the Yellow Tier, the County had to maintain Yellow Tier numbers for two consecutive weeks. This included a case rate of less than one new case per 100,000 residents on a daily basis, less than 2% positivity rate and less than 2.2% health equity metric, according to California’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy.
As of June 15, the state will “move beyond” the Blueprint and fully reopen its economy across the state if the following criteria is met:
- There is enough vaccine supply for Californians 16 years and older to be vaccinated.
- Hospitalization rates remain stable and low, especially among fully-vaccinated California residents.
The State indicated that common sense health measures such as wearing masks, will continue, and testing and vaccination requirements will remain for some businesses and industries, the Long Beach Health Department noted.
For those fully vaccinated, face mask requirements have been revised in alignment with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) state guidance.
Fully vaccinated individuals may gather or take part in activities:
- Outdoors without a mask
- When alone with members of their household
- In a small group of fully vaccinated people
- In a small group with a mix of vaccinated and unvaccinated people (with the exception of crowded areas)
Those who are fully vaccinated must wear a mask at crowded outdoor events and in crowded places where physical distancing cannot be kept and it is unknown if everyone is fully vaccinated or at high risk for severe illness or death from COVID-19.
Masks are also required in indoor public settings, “unless expressly permitted by the Health Order,” at worksites and businesses; in any place where masks are required by the facility operator or health order.
As of Tuesday, May 4 there were 53,025 cases reported in Long Beach. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 933 people have died from COVID-19 in Long Beach. Over 300,000 vaccines have been administered in the city.
For the latest information on COVID-19, visit longbeach.gov/COVID19 and follow @LongBeachCity on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.