A spike in coronavirus cases in Santa Cruz County is linked to Halloween gatherings, according to local health officials.
And unfortunately, the rise in cases caused the county to move backward from the orange to red tier in the state’s reopening system.
Public health officer Dr. Gail Newel said new COVID-19 cases mostly involved young people, and she believes hospitalizations and related deaths will soon rise.
“We were barely in the orange; we just barely eeked over the orange line,” Newel said. “So I’m not surprised that we’re back in the red.”
But Newel said she is surprised by the number of cases confirmed just this past weekend, as daily positive tests rose more than five-fold after Halloween.
The drop to red means lower capacities for places of worship, restaurants, gyms and more, and forced bars, breweries and distilleries to close once again.
The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk was also allowed to reopen last weekend but has closed again due to the pushback.
Newel said people are letting down their guard because the vaccine is closer to market, which she said is a bad idea. She added out of caution that it’s very possible for the county to drop to the purple, or most restrictive, tier again.
Other California counties, including Contra Costa, slid backward Tuesday in reopening tiers, with none moving forward.
