OK, I've now read thru the entire thread and see that I was about the 20th person to bring up the "NYC is already Orange" point. Sorry! :-)
But several people mentioned that NYC is at "low orange" and will move to "high orange". I had no idea there was such a thing. Has anyone else heard of this "low", "high" distinction? Boy, way to make things more confusing. If they're gonna have "low" and "high" distinctions within colors, then it seems to me we need more colors!!! (This whole color code thing is so ridiculous, if you ask me)
I just know what I see with my own eyes, its nothing "official". for NYC, there are two different sets of behavior under orange, I called them "low" and "high".
and I will add - its not a waste of time to have these codes. this alert forces more diligence amongst law enforcement people, which is good.