Tulare County moves into less-restrictive orange tier

TULARE COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- Tulare County met the metrics to make the move into the less restrictive Orange Tier.

Under the orange tier, restaurants can now operate indoors at 50 percent capacity.

Bars are allowed to reopen outdoors only. Movie theaters and churches can also bump up their capacity to 50 percent.

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Health officials say a big reason for the drop in positivity rates is their aggressive vaccination efforts.

City and county buses teamed up to offer free rides to people getting vaccinated.

The county also opened up eligibility for those 16 and up, and worked with community partners to get vaccines into rural areas.

Fugazzi's employees in Visalia said this is good news for both their customers and staff.

"We're very excited and very happy to serve more customers, and bring the staff back while being able to support their families again," said manager Gabriel Diaz.

The Visalia mayor said while businesses downtown struggled to survive, the community rallied to support them.

"Many came out in support of locals to come outside and dine, or get gift cards to use at a later date," said Visalia mayor Steve Nelson.

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One of the owners of Cafe India said while they struggled, they're now getting ready to shift from primarily take out to bringing in more customers.

"I think 50 percent is going to be enough to get more comfortable. We're excited for those who've had to hang in there, it's a light at the end of the tunnel," said Michael Parades.