State Lifts Regional Stay at Home Order

San Mateo County Returns to Purple Tier Restrictions

State public health officials announced today that effective immediately, the statewide Regional Stay at Home Order has ended. San Mateo County has now returned to the purple tier 1 of the State’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy. Personal care services, outdoor dining and more business operations are now allowed to resume with modifications.

While this is welcomed news, remember COVID-19 remains a serious and widespread threat in San Mateo County at this time. Please help protect yourself, your loved ones and our community by following health precautions, limiting your exposure to people outside your household and wearing face masks when required.

The state lifted the Regional Stay at Home order as the Bay Area’s four-week intensive care unit (ICU) capacity projections are above 15 percent, the threshold that allows regions to exit the order. Read more about what this means for San Mateo County in a news release.

The purple tier is the most restrictive tier of the state’s four-tier, color-coded system for loosening and tightening restrictions. The purple tier includes the following activities/business with limited operations:

Restaurants: Outdoors only with modifications (takeout and delivery open with modifications)
Gatherings: Outdoors only with modifications, no more than three households
Places of Worship: Outdoors only with modifications
Gyms and Fitness Centers, Movie Theaters, Museums, Zoos and Aquariums: Outdoors only with modifications
Hair Salons, Barbershops, Personal Care Services: Open indoors with modifications
All Retail (except stand-alone grocers), Shopping Centers, Malls, Swap Meets: Open indoors with modifications, maximum 25% capacity, closed common areas, closed food courts
Offices for Non-Essential Workers: Remote only
Outdoor Playgrounds/Recreational Facilities: Open with modifications

The California Department of Public Health has a breakdown of what's allowed in each tier. All businesses are required to follow industry-specific guidance. You can easily search for an extensive list of what’s open in San Mateo County at any given time on the State’s Blueprint web page.

If you wish to report a businesses that is not complying with COVID regulations, please visit the County's COVID-19 business compliance task force web page.

The Limited Stay at Home Order, which limited non-essential activities between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. has also ended.

Federal Resources & Grants for Businesses

Federal Paycheck Protection Program

The Small Business Administration restarted the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) on Jan. 11, 2021. Please visit the SBA's web page for more information and to apply.

California State Relief Grant

Round 2 of the State's CA COVID-19 Relief Grant Program will reopen on Feb. 2. California’s Office of the Small Business Advocate (CalOSBA) announced Round 1 closed with more than 300,000 applications successfully completed. Funds will be disbursed over a 45-day verification period beginning Friday, January 22.

A second round of applications will open at 8 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 2 and will run through 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 8. Applicants who submitted all necessary documents in the first round and met eligibility requirements, but did not receive a grant, do not need to reapply; their applications will be rolled over for consideration in the second round. Visit the CA Relief Grant website for more information and to apply.