Planning a party? Limit it to 3 households and keep it outside, SLO County says
California released new guidance on how to gather safely with people outside your own household as San Luis Obispo County enters its seventh month of local COVID-19 cases.
For months, San Luis Obispo County Public Health Officer Dr. Penny Borenstein has shared many of the tips outlined in California’s guidance, but Tuesday marked the first official state guidance on private gatherings since March 16, when the statewide shelter-at-home order was issued, according to a county news release.
“The safest way to gather is to spend time with people in the same household or to gather virtually, but if you choose to host or attend a social gathering, please be sure to follow the rules laid out by state health officials,” Borenstein said in the release.
According to the state, people gathering with others must follow these guidelines:
- Gather outdoors.
- Have no more than three households present at one time.
- Avoid gathering if sick or in a high-risk group.
- Maintain physical distance and wash hands frequently.
- Wear a face covering.
- Keep gatherings short.
These requirements apply to any gathering of people outside the same household.
The San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department has been telling local residents to limit their exposure to people outside their households since March. Borenstein has asked residents to remain within “social bubbles” and to keep activities outdoors.
However, private gatherings remain a large factor in new coronavirus cases.
“Many of the most recent cases of COVID-19 in SLO County have been traced to holiday celebrations, family parties, and other social gatherings,” Borenstein said in the release.
As of Tuesday, San Luis Obispo County has had 3,924 coronavirus cases and 32 deaths due to COVID-19 since mid-March.
Of those cases, 44.6% were acquired from person-to-person spread, according to ReadySLO.org.
San Luis Obispo County has been placed in California’s red COVID-19 tier for a fourth consecutive week — meaning that more business sectors may remain open. The county’s case rate, however, has edged closer to moving backwards than progressing to the next tier.
The county had a positivity rate of 2% as of the latest data, up from the 1.9% rate recorded the previous week.
The county had an adjusted average of 6.1 new cases per 100,000 people per day — 1 point higher than the previous week. The unadjusted case rate was 7.3, according to state data.
This story was originally published October 13, 2020 at 5:25 PM.
