San Francisco now in best shape for COVID in the Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO (KTVU) - San Francisco became the first Bay Area county to advance into the less-restrictive orange tier of the state's reopening blueprint. 

California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly announced on Tuesday that San Francisco County now meets the criteria to advance to the second-best tier, which ups the capacity limits for restaurants, churches, zoos, and museums from 25 to 50%.

Moving to the orange tier also allows retailers to operate at full capacity, up from 50%. Indoor gyms and fitness centers can boost occupency limits from 10 to 25%. 

State officials can give the green light for counties to ease restrictions, but it is up to local health officials to decide when to implement those new changes and at what pace.

San Francisco has yet to allow indoor dining, but starting Wednesday that changes. City officials have decided to move forward with dine-in service and the reopening places of worship at 25% capacity.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed said in a statement that read in part, "We are seeing improvements in our numbers, which means we can continue to move forward with reopening." She later warned, "...the last thing we want to see is a spike in cases and a need to roll back all the progress we’ve made, so we all need to do our part."

The city has also said indoor movie theaters and outdoor playgrounds are slated to reopen at a limited capacity on Oct. 7.