San Diego Comes Off California’s Coronavirus Monitoring List

After more than a month on the state’s COVID-19 watch list, San Diego County was officially removed from the list on Tuesday after successfully staying under the state’s case rate threshold for three consecutive days.

On July 3, San Diego was among the counties put on the California’s monitoring list and made subject to rollback restrictions that included the second shutdown of indoor dining.

If the county stays under the state’s case levels for the next 14 days, K through 12 students could go back into classrooms by early September but there is still no word on other reopenings as it pertains to restaurants, bars, etc.

Last Friday, San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and Supervisor Greg Cox sent a letter to the governor asking for direction; at Monday’s coronavirus press briefing, Cox said guidance could come later this week.

The county will be put back on the list if it exceeds any of the state’s six qualifying metrics for three consecutive days, including percentage of positive tests and changes in the number of hospitalized patients. San Diego’s community outbreaks are still higher that the county target of less than seven in a seven-day span. Defined as three or more COVID-19 cases in one setting with people from different households, many of the outbreaks are occurring in local bars and restaurants.