COVID Purple Tier: Santa Clara County Residents Brace For Life In COVID's Purple Tier
SANTA CLARA (CBS SF) -- Santa Clara County issued new emergency health directives Saturday, reporting record numbers for new cases and hospitalizations in a single day since the outset of the pandemic.
According to the Santa Clara health officials, the state had no choice but to move the county into the most restrictive tier after there were 760 new cases of COVID-19 and 239 COVID-related hospitalizations.
Now local residents, businesses and sports teams including the NFL's San Francisco 49ers will have to change their plans because of the new mandates.
The 49ers won't be allowed to host their next two games at Levi's Stadium or practice at their facility for at least the next few weeks since the directive bans contact recreational sports.
That's just one of the new restrictive measures now in place, aimed to address the surging number of new COVID cases.
The team released a statement saying it is working with the NFL and other partners, but have not yet confirmed where the team will play because of this latest emergency health order.
Worshipers inside their cars, gathered for mass at our Lady of Peace Church and Shrine in Santa Clara Saturday night. Under the new guidelines, outdoor gatherings including religious services and protests will be limited to 100 people.
"This pandemic is like a high-speed train and our projections tell us that we are on target to derail by around the third week of December if we don't apply brakes right now," said Santa Clara County Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody.
Displaying charts showing a rapid rise and a record number of new cases in a single day, Santa Clara County health officials believe hospitals are at risk of exceeding capacity "very soon if current trends continue."
Stores, including hair salons and barbershops will be forced to further reduce capacity to 10%
"We're just trying to make ends meet and lowering the amount of people we can have in here kind of seems like it's just taking away from how much we can make. It's gonna hurt," said barber Clifton Kemp of Unique Stylez.
Essential stores like groceries and pharmacies will be allowed to operate at 25% capacity. But the added lockdowns mean even more difficult times for retailers in the middle of the holiday shopping season.
"With these new restrictions we're praying and hoping we don't have to close the doors we do e-commerce but because of all the mailing restrictions, this imposes a difficult time for us," said Marta Chaskelmann of Skies Azul Beachwear.
"We keep seeing these changes and restrictions coming out and it just gets harder and harder for small businesses to stay in front of the changes which are coming so rapidly," said Scott Knies, Executive Director of the San Jose Downtown Association.
Hotels can only open only for essential travelers or for people to quarantine.
Anyone traveling more than 150 miles is also required to quarantine for 14 days upon returning with some exceptions including healthcare workers.
