BUTTE COUNTY, CA (MPG) – As part of the State’s new Blueprint for a Safer Economy, every Tuesday the State reviews county specific data and updates the tier status for each county. There are four tiers that determine which businesses and activities may be open based on case rate and test positivity rate.

Butte County Public Health (BCPH) is excited to announce on Tuesday, September 22nd, the updated weekly case rate and test positivity rate for Butte County have gone below the Tier 1 threshold. As a reminder, Tier 1, also known as the purple tier, is the most restrictive tier and requires most businesses and activities to modify operations for outdoors only. The current case rate is 6.6 cases per 100,000 resident with a 4.3% test positivity rate. If Butte County remains below the Tier 1 threshold for one more week, the County will qualify to move into Tier 2, the red tier, which is a less restrictive tier.

To learn what can open in Tier 2, the public can visit the State’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy website: covid19.ca.gov/safer-economy/

While this is very good news for Butte County, a word of caution is needed. This reduction in cases may be attributed to the temporary closure and relocation of the State’s OptumServe testing site. On September 9, 2020, OptumServe had to vacate their original location at the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds to make room for Cal Fire to conduct important work related to the North Complex West Zone Fire. 

It is possible that Butte County case rates will increase with next week’s data update, which would result in the county remaining in the purple tier. Even if that happens, BCPH remains cautiously optimistic that case rates will continue to decline, allowing the county to move tiers in the next few weeks.

With the possibility of moving into a less restrictive tier, we thank those who are working hard to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and ask residents to keep doing all they can to prevent the virus by:

Wear a face covering when in public; Keep at least six feet away from others; Wash your hands often; Don’t mix with people who don’t live in your household; Stay home if you are sick.