SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — With only a week to go before California completely abandons its color-coded tier system, San Diego County descends to the least restrictive yellow tier: a welcome change for local bars.
This move, which will officially kick in on Wednesday, came after the county's COVID case rate has remained well below two per 100,000 for two weeks in a row.
This last-minute slide into "yellow" may positively impact bars throughout San Diego most of all.
Up until now, San Diego bars that didn't offer food had been barred from serving their customers indoors since the tier system went into effect.
That changes, though, under the yellow tier.
"We're coming back.... we're coming back!" said Julie Kazmi, owner of the Silver Fox bar, an institution along Garnet Avenue in Pacific Beach opened by her mother back in 1975.
With the exception of one short week last June, her business has been shut down due to the pandemic since March of 2020.
"I feel like I kind of doggy-paddled through the whole thing," Kazmi told News 8.
Now that San Diego County is entering the yellow tier starting Wednesday, the Silver Fox and other bars have the ability to finally re-open to indoor service at 25% capacity without having to offer food or be affiliated with a restaurant or food truck.
"I think it's fantastic," Kazmi added. "There's energy in the air. People are ready to get back to normal."
While bars are green-lighted to offer indoor service starting Wednesday, Kazmi is sticking with her original plan of re-opening just six days later on June 15, when California retires its color-coded tier system.
"The community has reached out to me," she said, "They are excited for our comeback."
Also under the yellow tier, restaurants and gyms can expand their indoor capacity to 50% and outdoor venues like concerts can increase to 67%.
"We are excited about where we are headed," said Chair of the Board of Supervisors Nathan Fletcher.
County leaders also confirmed on Tuesday that San Diego will maintain its State of Emergency declaration past the June 15 reopening date.
"June 15 is not the magic date or bullet for declaring the pandemic is over," said County Public Health Officer Dr. Wilma Wooten. "It is not."
The emergency declaration, which Fletcher explained is a standard practice used during wildfires and other natural disasters, allows the county to access state and federal funding and other resources, even while most day-to-day restrictions will finally come to an end.
"Day-to-day life for San Diegans will revert to as close as we've been to normal in more than a year and a half, and we are looking ahead to that," Fletcher said.
To take a closer look at what entering the yellow tier means, click here.