Orange County transitions to red tier, indoor operations resume

Following the March 14 reclassification to the red tier of the county’s COVID-19 watchlist, venues like restaurants, schools and amusement parks are permitted to reopen under specific guidelines. Graphic by HARRY LADA, Art Director

On a typical weekday, Jaxon’s Chix Tenders, located in the heart of the Orange Plaza, is bustling both inside and out with hungry customers eager to try their fried chicken. The overwhelming support is greatly appreciated by ownership following the restaurant’s May 2020 decision to rebrand — originally known as hamburger joint Burger Parlor — and regain trust in the community with a new central product in the height of a global pandemic.

Amanda Lankin, the supervisor of Jaxon’s, told The Panther that their recent success can be in part attributed to Orange County’s March 14 progression into the red, “substantial” tier of the county COVID-19 watchlist. The move sweepingly allowed for restaurants to resume dine-in operations at 25% of venue capacity or 100 people total, depending on which number is fewer. 

“If people want to go outside and they know there’s a risk, then they’re responsible for their own decisions,” Lankin said. “At the same time, I think it’s great for the businesses to open up because these are people’s livelihoods. This is how people feed their children and put food on the table for their family.”

Lankin added that take-out orders have been beneficial for bringing in extra revenue during the pandemic, catalyzing the creation of Jaxon’s website to further facilitate online ordering. Before outdoor dining was allowed, the eatery would only receive three or four online orders a weekend. Now, that number has since grown to anywhere from 10 to 15, and Lankin said the phone is often ringing off the hook.

“Our sales are getting better and better every weekend actually, so we’re doing something right,” Lankin said. “People just miss indoor dining; people miss the experience of just sitting down, eating a good meal with their family and friends and just having a drink and talking over a meal at a restaurant.”

The Orange Plaza has attempted to maintain the operations of its respective vendors throughout the pandemic by blocking off incoming traffic from Glassell Street and creating a dedicated space for outdoor eating called the Orange Plaza Paseo. The street closures will remain in place until further notice, according to Paul Sitkoff, Orange County’s public affairs and information manager. Regardless of each businesses’ allotted patio space, the Orange Plaza Paseo allows restaurants to extend their services onto Glassell Street as long as COVID-19 safety protocol is followed.

“There is a limited amount of enforcement ability within the city, and the fact of the matter is both businesses and individuals need to take responsibility for the directives put in place for their own protection,” Sitkoff said.

In addition to restaurants opening their doors for dine-in experiences, amusement parks are also capable of resuming operations at 15% capacity April 1, assuming the county still meets the metrics of the red tier. The facilities will only be available to in-state visitors, in accordance with a Jan. 6 travel advisory from the California Department of Public Health, and guests must attend in groups of no more than 10 people. Other establishments like movie theaters and gyms can also reopen with a limited occupancy.

Higher education, too, can resume indoor lectures at 25% classroom capacity or 100 people, whichever is less. This includes Chapman University, which is slated to reopen for hybrid learning March 29. The transition to hybrid instruction is mandatory for Chapman faculty unless provided specific exemption through Human Resources. President Daniele Struppa emphasized in a March 19 CU Safely Back update that this choice is “not based on the number of students planning to attend in person.”

Molly Nichelson, the public information manager of the Orange County Executive Office, said that Clayton Chau, the director of the Orange County Health Care Agency, is working directly with administration from universities and community colleges in the county to streamline vaccination of faculty and staff and ensure their safety during the reopening process. 

“(The county’s tier is) based on case count information; the number of cases we have in the county,” Nichelson said. “The state makes that determination every Tuesday as far as what our case counts look like. We’re judged on three different metrics.”

Orange County’s daily positive COVID-19 case count March 21 was 113. However, 430,200 Orange County residents are already fully vaccinated as of March 18 and 335,228 residents have received the first dose of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. Given the county’s population is over 3.1 million people, Nichelson said that vaccine turnout is well on its way to meeting the goal of vaccinating at least 70% of the community by July 1 as part of Operation Independence. 

Nichelson also emphasized that the Orange County Health Care Agency is not the only resource for vaccination now that pharmacies, hospitals and medical providers have united to form an immunization framework. She said she hoped residents would ultimately be able to simply visit their doctor in order to receive the COVID-19 vaccine as supplies increase.

Orange County must remain in the red tier for a total of three weeks in order to further transition down to the orange, “moderate” tier, which would further increase indoor capacity for various establishments. The tire most notably allows the reopening of indoor offices and outdoor bars.

“Red and orange tiers still mean that we have a significant number of cases of the COVID-19 pandemic in our general area, and caution is still warranted under those circumstances,” Sitkoff said. “The good news is that the further we get along the vaccination trail, the brighter the situation is going to look.”