Indoor Dining Closes, Outdoor Gatherings Only: State Moves San Mateo County to Purple Tier 1

State's Stay At Home Order Applies from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.

San Mateo County is now under the state’s most restrictive COVID-19 rules as public health officials urge residents to protect themselves amidst a rise in cases.

As of Sunday, San Mateo County is in the purple Tier 1 of the state’s four-tier, color-coded COVID-19 reopening plan. A new stay-at-home order – prohibiting residents from leaving their homes to gather with other households from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. – also takes effect 10 p.m. Monday, Nov. 30.

Under purple Tier 1 restrictions, businesses and activities that may have been operating indoors – including places of worship, movie theaters, gyms and museums – must move outdoors or close. Shopping malls and all retail must operate at no more than 25 percent capacity.

San Mateo County Health reported an approximately 85 percent spike in new COVID-19 cases from October to November. The rollback to purple is due to the county’s new adjusted case rate of 7.6 per 100,000 population.

Read the County's full press release for more information.

San Mateo County’s health order requiring face coverings, social distancing, and limited gatherings remains in effect. Business must follow state industry guidance.

With the holidays around the corner, everyone should remain safe by avoiding large gatherings and unnecessary travel. The Bay Area health officers released guidance on how to stay safe during the holidays.

Changes to What Can Open

The California Department of Public Health has a break down of what's allowed in each tier. The purple tier requires the following limits on activities/business operations:

Restaurants: Outdoors only with modifications (takeout and delivery open with modifications.) View the state's guidelines for parklets and outdoor structures.
Gatherings: Outdoors only with modifications, no more than three households, prohibited, with certain exemptions, from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.
Places of Worship: Outdoor only with modifications
Movie Theaters, Gyms and Fitness Centers, Museums, Zoos and Aquariums: Outdoor only with modifications
Hair Salons, Barbershops, Personal Care Services: Open indoors with modifications
All Retail (except stand-alone grocers), Shopping Centers, Malls, Swap Meets: Open indoors with modifications, maximum 25% capacity, closed common areas, closed food courts

All businesses are required to follow industry-specific guidance and should review the state's guidelines for outdoor business operations. You can easily search for an extensive list of what’s open in San Mateo County at any given time on the State’s Blueprint web page.

If you wish to report a businesses that is not complying with COVID regulations, please visit the County's COVID-19 business compliance task force web page.

Limited Stay At Home Order

The new stay at home order, announced by the state Nov. 19, is more limited than the spring “Shelter in Place” order and applies only to counties in the purple Tier 1. It will remain in place until at least Dec. 21.

Residents can still go outside alone or with members of their own household “as long as they do not engage in any interaction” with members of other households or to work at essential jobs, such as in grocery stores. The order requires all nonessential businesses and restaurants – even if operating outdoors – to cease operations by 10 p.m.

Business Protections

Commercial Tenant Protections

To help small businesses through the pandemic, the City passed an emergency ordinance banning commercial evictions for non-payment of rent between the months of April 2020-September 2020.

It temporarily prohibited landlords from evicting nonprofit and small business tenants when:

The tenant is unable to pay their rent because they have been impacted by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic; or
The landlord seeks to terminate the tenancy for “no fault” causes, unless the eviction is necessary to preserve the health and safety of tenants, neighbors, or the landlord.

Repayment period
Starting the month when the City’s State of Emergency is lifted, tenants will have a 12-month period to pay rent arrears culminated between April – September 2020. On the seventh month of the 12-month repayment period, tenants must start paying a minimum of 50% percent of the unpaid balance. Landlords are not allowed to charge late fees or surcharges to the outstanding balance.

Visit our FAQ page for more information.

New Cap on Delivery Fees

The fees delivery services can charge local restaurants and businesses are now capped after the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors on Nov. 17 approved an emergency regulation.

The new rule caps commissions and fees charged by third-party food deliver services such as Uber Eats, Grubhub, and Doordash to all restaurants in San Mateo County until June 30, 2021 or the end of the local emergency due to COVID-19. The regulation caps delivery fees at 15% of the cost of an order and non-deliveries at 10% per order. There is also a provision that the Delivery Service Platform cannot make up the difference from reducing the gratuity made to the driver.

Read a press release for more information. You can also read the County’s full ordinance here.

More Information

State: Find information about what's open on the state's COVID-19 website.
County: Find local San Mateo County information on the County's website and the San Mateo County Health website.
City: Find City of San Mateo specific updates at www.cityofsanmateo.org/coronavirus

Together we can help San Mateo County move further into reopening.
Remember to wear face coverings when in public, wash your hands frequently, maintain at least six feet of distance when in public, and limit mixing with people outside of your household.