Santa Clara County, shifting into yellow tier, overhauls COVID guidelines
Dr. Sara Cody, senior health officer for Santa Clara County, announces a revision of local corporate COVID restrictions on May 18, 2021.
SAN JOSE, California – – Santa Clara county health officials announced that COVID restrictions would ease on Wednesday as the county moves to the state’s yellow tier in the reopening plan.
The county is introducing a unique model that has not yet been seen in the Bay Area or possibly California.
Under the county’s new rules to limit the pandemic, companies no longer need to maximize the number of employees working from home, said Dr. Sara Cody and other Santa Clara officials. Corporate social distancing requirements will also be lifted.
Santa Clara County, moving to yellow row, is revising COVID rules
Santa Clara County’s health officials announced they are easing COVID restrictions but adding a new health ordinance requiring employers to inquire about workers’ vaccination status. The county moves into the yellow row on Wednesday.
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Instead of these rules, employers have two weeks to determine the COVID vaccination status of each employee. Additional safety measures are being put in place for workers who are not vaccinated or who refuse to reveal their vaccination status, district officials said. When a COVID case arises, officials must be notified.
“If employees want to decline to reveal their status, they can check,” said District Attorney James Williams. “If they do this, however, they are treated as not vaccinated in terms of occupational health and safety regulations.”
“This will be very complicated for many employers, especially small businesses,” said Donald Polden, law professor at Santa Clara University.
Polden said that in this uncharted territory, much remains to be worked out between an employer’s duty to create a safe job and workers who cannot or do not want to be vaccinated.
“Given some people’s concerns about taking vaccines for any reason, it can create tension between them and their employers,” Polden said.
The changes are an indication that the COVID pandemic is less of a threat, Cody said.
“For the first time in a long time I’m optimistic,” said Cody.
The change to the yellow tier means that Santa Clara County has reached the least restrictive tier in the California system.
The county case rate is 1/3 that of a month ago and at 0.5% marks the lowest positivity rate ever recorded.
72% of Santa Clara County’s residents 12 and older have received a COVID shot, while 56% of eligible residents in this age group are fully vaccinated.
The county will follow state guidelines that require masks to be worn indoors by June 15, regardless of vaccination status. People who have already been vaccinated can walk around the outdoors without covering their face in the state.
The color-coded system, which defines which companies can be open in which districts and with what capacity, will be lifted on June 15th.
