Restaurants in SLO County can now reopen inside dining

March 2, 2021

San Luis Obispo County advanced today from the restrictive purple tier into the more lenient red tier, while neighboring Santa Barbara County remains in the purple tier.

Even though the number of new coronavirus cases in both counties continues to plummet, SLO County rates are adjusted down lower based on a larger number of people testing negative for the virus. SLO County has a 12.6 case rate per 100,000 people, which the state adjusted down to 6.8.

In Santa Barbara County, the case rate is 15 per 100,000, which the state adjusted down to 13.

In California’s red tier, restaurants, movie theaters and museums can open indoors at 25% occupancy. Gyms can reopen at 10% occupancy and retail can increase occupancy to 50%.

On Tuesday, SLO County reported 28 new cases, bringing the county’s total to 19,724 since the beginning of the pandemic. Of those, 236 have died.

There are 19 SLO County residents in the hospital receiving treatment for the virus, with five in intensive care units.

Cases by area

  • Paso Robles – 3,899
  • San Luis Obispo – 3,709
  • California Men’s Colony (inmates) – 2,382
  • Atascadero – 1,850
  • Nipomo – 1,492
  • Arroyo Grande – 1,400
  • Grover Beach – 816
  • Oceano – 675
  • Templeton – 594
  • San Miguel – 489
  • Los Osos – 455
  • Morro Bay – 406
  • Cal Poly (campus residents) – 342
  • Pismo Beach – 316
  • Atascadero State Hospital (patients) – 206
  • Cambria – 174
  • Shandon – 139
  • Santa Margarita – 131
  • Creston – 80
  • Cayucos – 68
  • Avila Beach – 28
  • San Simeon – 21
  • Bradley – 7

In Santa Barbara County, there have been 32,050 confirmed coronavirus cases and 413 deaths, according to the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department.

Cases by area:

    • Santa Maria — 10,782
    • Santa Barbara — 5,960
    • Lompoc — 3,364
    • Orcutt — 1,697
    • Lompoc Federal Prison — 1,086

As of Tuesday afternoon, there have been 3,561,010 positive cases, and 52,620 deaths in California.

More than 29,358,755 U.S. residents have tested positive for the virus, and 528,718 have died.

In addition, the number of people infected with the virus worldwide continues to increase: 115,244,147 cases with 2,557,990 dead.

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Good luck.


Who’s handling my food? Are they sick or carrying the virus? Don’t look for me there!


That’s the beauty of it – even with the restaurants open, no one’s forcing you to eat at any of them!


Yep, I’m more than ready for a great BBQ Sandwich at OLD SLO BBQ. See you there for lunch today!


You do know that restaurants have been serving takeout this whole time, right? So all your panicked questions about who handles your food still applied before this change.


I haven’t eaten takeout since the covid began