Contra Costa, Napa, Sonoma counties move into the orange tier

Napa, Sonoma, and Contra Costa Counties expect to move to orange tier this week

KTVU's Emma Goss reports.

YOUNTVILLE, Calif. - State officials on Tuesday announced the latest changes to the state's color-coded tier system.

Three Bay Area counties moved to less-restrictive status.

Contra Costa, Napa and Sonoma counties have held COVID positivity rates at or below 2 percent for the past two weeks and have had fewer daily new cases, which met requirements for them to transition out of the red tier.

They will join five other Bay Area counties already in the orange tier.

Bay Area guide to COVID-19 rules: What each county allows

The move to the orange tier allows restaurants, wineries, and bars to double their indoor dining capacity to 50 percent, and also allows more people inside shops and movie theaters, the tier change is especially significant for napa county, as indoor wine tasting rooms would be allowed to partially reopen.

Napa County was optimistic it would move to the orange tier at the end of last month, but an outbreak of COVD-19 at veterans home in Yountville delayed the transition.