STORY BY TOMOKI CHIEN

San Mateo County has fallen to the red tier of coronavirus restrictions, effective tomorrow, Feb. 24. Santa Clara County — whose adjusted case rate, test positivity rate and health equity quartile qualify for the red tier — will make a similar drop if numbers hold for two consecutive weeks.

In the red tier, restaurants, movie theaters and gyms may open indoors with capacity limits. Schools currently ineligible for in-person instruction may begin to reopen five days into the red tier; specific reopening plans are left up to individual school districts.

Both the Mountain View–Los Altos and Palo Alto Unified school districts are slated to make optional in-person returns once permitted.

Travel beyond 120 miles from the home as well as “non-essential” travel continues to be strongly discouraged in the red tier. All outdoor sports competition is allowed irrespective of coronavirus tier.

A full list of allowed operation in the red tier, via San Mateo County:

• Restaurants indoors (max 25% capacity or 100 people, whichever is fewer)
• All retail indoors (max 50% capacity)
• Shopping centers, swap meets indoors (max 50% capacity, closed common areas, reduced capacity food courts)
• Personal care services — hair and nail salons, barbershops (open with modifications)
• Museums, zoos and aquariums (max 25% capacity)
• Places of worship (max 25% capacity)
• Movie theaters indoors (max 25% capacity or 100 people, whichever is fewer)
• Gyms and fitness centers indoors (max 10% capacity)
• Family entertainment centers (kart racing, mini-golf, batting cages) outdoors only with modifications

Amusement parks, bars without meal service, bowling alleys, indoor playgrounds, live theater, saunas and steam rooms, nightclubs and festivals are not permitted.