Los Angeles County has one foot in the most lenient category of the state’s COVID-19 reopening system, a momentous achievement for a region that was once so ravaged by the coronavirus it was considered the epicenter of the pandemic in California.

According to new state data released Tuesday, the county’s coronavirus case rate — adjusted based on the number of tests performed — dropped to 1.9 new cases per day per 100,000 people, reaching the threshold to enter California’s final yellow tier.

The county would have to maintain its numbers next week to advance.

“It’s so encouraging to see the work we’re doing together having such a profound effect on the health and well-being of people all across our communities,” L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said Monday, before the new state tiering data were unveiled.

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