SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento County will not be one of the 13 counties moving to the red tier Sunday. However, if all goes smoothly, it will be moving come Tuesday, according to Sacramento County Public Health Officer Dr. Olivia Kasirye.
Kasirye is looking forward to the tier changes and knows many others are too.
“I think it will be a welcome relief because I know that a lot of people are, especially the schools are ready to get started, to open not just the elementary schools but middle and high school,” said Dr. Kasirye.
Kasirye still urges caution because in the past, when freedoms were expanded, a rise in COVID-19 infections have followed. She says there is some concern that people make the same mistakes as before.
Sacramento County moved into the red tier at the end of September but had to move back to the more restrictive purple tier due to the rise of COVID-19 cases.
Kasirye attributes the county's current success in part to the sacrifices businesses have made.
“The number of businesses that did have to shut down because that limited movement,” Kasirye said.
Kasirye also reacted to President Joe Biden, saying people could be gathering for the 4th of July. She is hopeful life will return to normal this year, but the spread of COVID-19 will determine whether or not restrictions end.
“We can make a number of predictions, but the virus is the one that drives what is going to happen," Kasirye said. "I welcome that because it does give people something to look forward to, but we’re not there yet. We still continue to have to make decisions based on what we’re seeing on the ground.”
