State Loosens Restrictions in San Mateo CountyCounty moves to Orange Tier, Officials Urge Continued Safety PrecautionsCorrection: links below have been fixed & information updated regarding bars.
The state of California today announced beginning tomorrow San Mateo County is moving into the less restrictive “orange tier” which allows the easing of certain restrictions and most indoor businesses to operate with modifications.
The shift to orange at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, March 17, 2021, comes one year to the day of the Bay Area’s first stay-at-home order. The county was last in the less-restrictive orange tier in the state’s color-coded plan for reducing COVID-19 in October 2020. The county had been in the red tier for three weeks.
The county moved to the orange “moderate” tier due to two metrics calculated by the state: the adjusted case rate has fallen to 2.8 per 100,000 in population and test positivity rate, excluding prisons, is 1.1 per 100,000. The health equity quartile positivity rate is 1.9 per 100,000 in population. The health equity quartile measures rates of infection with the virus in the county’s most disadvantaged communities based on the California Health Places Index.
What's Allowed Under Orange TierThe 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.
|
|
|
|
Financial Assistance Programs for Businesses
|
|
|
|
Small Business Administration (SBA) Coronavirus Relief ProgramsThe recently passed American Rescue Plan Act provides additional loans, grants, and assistance for small businesses. The following is a current list of relief efforts being rolled out for small businesses. Please visit www.sba.gov/coronavirusrelief for updates from the SBA. $7.25 billion additional for the Paycheck Protection Program, including to expand eligibility to additional nonprofits and digital news services Additional funds are allocated for the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program, and now allows businesses to apply for both a PPP loan after Dec. 27, 2020 and the SVOG $15 billion additional for Targeted Economic Injury Disaster Loan Advance (EIDL) payments, including NEW $5 billion for Supplemental Targeted EIDL Advance payments for those hardest hit NEW: $28.6 billion for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund for industry-focused grants NEW: $100 million to establish a Community Navigator pilot program; grants will go to eligible organizations supporting efforts to improve access to COVID–19 pandemic assistance programs and resources.
|
|
|
|