Contra Costa, Sonoma and Napa counties have officially moved to the less-restrictive orange reopening tier, officials announced Tuesday.
All counties mentioned above have met the criteria for lower rates of infection.
That means restaurants can expand their indoor dining capacity, as can movie theaters, gyms and places of worship. It also allows bars, winery tasting rooms, bowling alleys and offices to reopen with limits.
For businesses in the three counties, these changes mean they may be able to feel a bit of normalcy as customers return to establishments.
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"People are happy, people are more positive and people are seeing a light at the end of the tunnel," said Laura Tehrani, owner of restaurant Lettuce in Walnut Creek.
Her business was up and running and thriving, and then the pandemic hit.
"At the holidays when everything closed down again, everything just went down," she said. "I mean, November, December, was really hard."
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"We don't want to rush things, but I think it's time," she said.
The changes will go in effect Wednesday, April 7.
If the three counties make it into the orange tier, that would leave Solano County as the only Bay Area county remaining in the red tier, and it's possible Solano could be moving back into the purple tier due to a rise in case rates.
As a county's coronavirus numbers improve and move to a less restrictive tier, more businesses can open with modifications. Check out this chart for a more detailed look.
For more information on counties across California, click here.
