Current safety measures

Last updated April 22, 2022 at 3:21 PM

Thanks to millions of vaccinations, California’s economy is open. But COVID-19 has not gone away. To safely go about our daily lives, we need to keep taking steps to prevent the spread.

On this page:

What to do now

Do what it takes to stay safe until COVID-19 is under control. Use these tools to reduce the risk of infection.

A woman's arm getting a bandage after a vaccination

Vaccinations

Get vaccinated, and get your kids 5 and older vaccinated. It’s our best tool to end the pandemic. Vaccination is safe and effective.

A group of people wearing masks

Masks

Wear a mask to keep from spreading the virus to those with no defense, like the immune-compromised and children under 5.

A man getting tested by a nurse at an outdoor COVID-19 testing center

Testing

Get tested for COVID-19 if you may have been exposed. It’s available and confidential for everyone in California.

Woman quarantining at home, on the couch with a blanket and a cup of tea

Quarantine and isolation

Find out how long to stay home and avoid others if you test positive or are exposed to COVID-19.

Woman reading a COVID-19 exposure notification on her phone

Exposure notifications

Turn on exposure notifications in your Apple or Android phone. CA Notify can then alert you if you’ve been near someone who tested positive.

A class of children raising their hands in front of a teacher

Education and childcare

As kids return to in-person learning, find out requirements for masking, vaccinating, and testing.

A barista serving a coffee to go

Workplace safety

Employers are responsible for keeping the work environment safe. See the state’s rules and standards to support this.

The outside of the Staples Center in Los Angeles

Mega-events

Mega-events are indoor events with 1,000 or more people and outdoor events with 10,000 or more people. Read the safety recommendations for each.

A woman on a train looking at her phone

Travel

Keep California healthy and our communities open by following CDC travel guidelines.


See COVID-19 guidance in more languages.


Do’s and don’ts for daily life

Protect yourself and others by keeping these common-sense safety steps in mind.

Do

  • Get vaccinated and boosted when eligible
  • Wear a mask where required
  • Turn on exposure notifications on your phone
  • Get tested if you’re sick
  • Honor mask rules in place at a private business
  • Get tested if required by your workplace
  • Wear a mask to protect the vulnerable

Don’t

  • Lose your proof of vaccination
  • Think you can’t get the virus or pass it on because you feel well
  • Assume everyone is vaccinated
  • Expect all COVID-19 rules everywhere to be lifted
  • Travel into the U.S. without proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test
  • Attend large events if you’re sick
  • Travel if you’re sick

Read the CDC’s How to Protect Yourself and Others and CDPH’s What to Do If You’re Exposed and What to Do If You Test Positive.

SMARTER Plan

The SMARTER Plan will guide California’s response to future phases of COVID-19. The plan includes:

  • What we’ve already done
  • How our experiences inform our future approach
  • How we’re preparing for the future
  • How we’re managing risk to keep people safe

Read the full SMARTER Plan.

Past restrictions

Reopening California 

California has moved Beyond the Blueprint to safely and fully reopen the economy. 

As of June 15, 2021, the Governor terminated the executive orders that put into place the Stay Home Order and the Blueprint for a Safer Economy. He also phased out the vast majority of executive actions put in place since March 2020 as part of the pandemic response, leaving a subset of provisions that facilitate the ongoing recovery.

The public health order effective June 15 supersedes all prior health orders. The order has limited restrictions, only related to masking and mega-events, as well as settings serving children and youth.

Restrictions that ended on June 15 include:

  • Physical distancing
  • Capacity limits on businesses
  • County tier system

Read the Governor’s orders N-07-21 and N-08-21. Find details in CDPH’s Beyond the Blueprint for Industry and Business Sectors and the Beyond the Blueprint Questions and Answers.

Retiring the Blueprint map

Under the old Blueprint for a Safer Economy framework, every California county was assigned to a risk-level tier. Based on their positivity rate, adjusted case rate, and/or health equity metric (for counties with populations more than 106,000), counties faced varying degrees of activity and capacity restrictions. The weekly status was shown on a map with four tier colors: purple, red, orange, and yellow.

The Blueprint framework was California’s reality from August 2020 to June 2021, but it is no longer in effect. You can find the latest data about your county on the State Dashboard.

See how tier restrictions were assigned and changed, as well as historical county data at CDPH’s Blueprint Data Archive.