Los Angeles County announced it is entering the yellow tier for COVID-19 restrictions on May 6, which includes the least restrictive guidelines the county has seen since the pandemic started.
The county of more than 10 million people is one of seven counties in the state to be designated a minimal risk level by the tier system. Citrus College’s opening plan is also tiered to match the county.
In accordance with the Blueprint for a Safer Economy, most indoor businesses will see increased capacity allowances with slight modifications.
Anders Corey, health deputy for Los Angeles’ 5th Supervisorial District, said he is optimistic about the vaccination program’s progress since over 60% of the population has received one dose.
“Our countywide seven-day-average positivity rate is 0.6%,” said Corey. “You can argue we have a level of herd immunity already.”
Positivity rates in the poorest communities have now matched the countywide positivity rate, a proportionality that Corey calls “a testament to our ability of protecting the most vulnerable parts of our community.”
Corey said the county hopes people will continue to get vaccinated, even though there is no plan to mandate vaccines since it only has emergency use authorization.
Under the new tier, Corey said the county’s objectives for education are to allow proper graduation ceremonies by spring, more normal operations by summer and confidence for a safe, in-person return by fall.
“Whatever we can do to invest in local colleges and universities is critical to helping those that most need access to higher education,” Corey said.
L.A. County Department of Public Health’s “Reopening Protocol for Institutes of Higher Education,” published May 11, has outlined new ways of safely reopening higher education. The revised plan relaxes restrictions on the number of students living in campus housing and gives permission to hold activities on campus as long as health and safety requirements are met.
In an email interview, L.A. Public Health’s Robert Gilchick, child and adolescent health section chief, emphasized the role of vaccination.
“The pathway to end this pandemic and return to what we all remember as ‘normal’ lies in achieving a high percentage of community immunity against COVID-19 from the very safe and very effective vaccines currently authorized for use,” Gilchick said.
Even for young, lower-risk college students, Gilchick said vaccination is still important— particularly for those with underlying or chronic health conditions. Many students who were infected have suffered long-term health effects.
“Given these facts, it is foolish to ‘roll the dice’ and avoid getting vaccinated,” he said.
Both Corey and Gilchick said guidelines are difficult to enforce for students who live in congregate living spaces like dorms and apartments.
Citrus College’s return plan has tiers similar to the county. Robert Sammis, director of human resources, said the college’s summer and fall plan will be updated to reflect the county’s changes.
“At the yellow tier, we can start bringing back some lecture classes and science labs,” Sammis said.
Citrus plans to incrementally reopen the Hayden Memorial Library and Student Services buildings, also bringing back some classified staff in August.
More visual and performing arts classes, cosmetology and esthetician program classes, and athletic programs like football, men’s and women’s basketball, golf and water polo will be allowed in person as well.
For the fall, Sammis said “around 30% of our instruction would be on campus in some form.”
Sammis said on-campus classes will have a concurrent broadcast component and can “go back remote either asynchronously or synchronously” should they need to.
Although Citrus does not plan to mandate vaccines, some faculty members are concerned about how to differentiate between vaccinated and non-vaccinated individuals.
“Do people wear a wristband that says vaccinated or unvaccinated?” Sammis asked.
Citrus plans to keep its commencement ceremony virtual, prioritizing summer and fall changes. Sammis guessed that winter and spring will start to look a little more normal.
Testing, isolation and contact tracing will be key to containment.
“As community transmission continues to fall, cases and outbreaks will become less frequent,” Gilchick said. “Gov. Newsom has stated if there is enough vaccine supply for every Californian 16 years and older who wishes to be inoculated and hospitalization rates are stable and low, then he expects California to fully open its economy on June 15.”
Along with getting vaccinated, Gilchick recommended safety measures including:
- masking
- distancing
- limiting capacities
- washing or sanitizing hands
- not sharing objects
- moving activities outdoors
- ventilating indoor spaces
For more information about what is open and how to stay safe, L.A. Public Health suggests going to https://covid19.ca.gov/safer-economy/ and vaccinatelacounty.com.
