Orange County has been removed from California’s COVID-19 watch list after weeks of improving metrics.
The California Department of Public has been monitoring several counties that had been reporting higher coronavirus metrics, with Orange County placed on the list at the end of June.
The county’s removal was prompted by weeks of falling case numbers, positive testing rate, hospitalizations and other metrics, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency.
The county must now maintain its lower coronavirus metrics for two weeks; after that, it could be cleared to resume in-person teaching with new social distancing protocols after Labor Day weekend.
Each district has the final say in reopening schools.
Other changes could follow, like an easing of restrictions on restaurants, malls, gyms and salons, should Governor Gavin Newsom decide to update the state mandate, which was most recently posted on July 13.
Go here for more updates on how OC companies are responding to coronavirus.
