Yuba-Sutter remains in red tier

Jake Abbott, Appeal-Democrat, Marysville, Calif.
·2 min read

Apr. 21—The Yuba-Sutter area will remain in the state's red tier following Tuesday's designations, though local metrics are trending in a direction that could see both counties move to a less restrictive tier in the coming weeks.

"Sutter County's case rate and test positivity numbers actually meet the orange tier metrics qualifications over a one-week timeframe, but the state requires counties to hold such numbers for a two-week period before moving forward," said Yuba County Media and Community Relations Coordinator Russ Brown. "If Sutter County can continue with this trend for another week, it can move into the orange tier as soon as next Tuesday, April 27."

A move to the orange tier in the state's Blueprint for a Safer Economy framework would relax more restrictions on business operations. To reach the orange tier, either county needs to see between 2 and 5.9 new daily cases per 100,000 residents and a test positivity between 2 percent and 4.9 percent.

Sutter County is currently averaging 5.7 new daily cases per 100,000 people with a test positivity of 2.1 percent. Yuba County isn't far behind with 6.1 new daily cases per 100,000 people and a test positivity of 3.5 percent.

"When you are able, sign up to get vaccinated," Brown said. "It is the only safe way forward for our community and our businesses, especially, are counting on us. Reaching herd immunity is key in fighting the pandemic and returning back to normal."

The number of COVID-19 cases in the Yuba-Sutter area increased by 25 on Tuesday. There are currently 105 active cases in the area.

Twelve individuals were hospitalized as of Tuesday evening, while 12 virus cases closed. To date, 144 local deaths have been attributed to COVID-19.