Gov. Inslee loosens Phase 3 Washington reopening criteria
Gov. Jay Inslee loosened criteria on Friday for counties to remain in Phase 3 of the “Healthy Washington” reopening plan.
SPOKANE, Wash. — Gov. Jay Inslee announced on Friday that the criteria for counties to stay in Phase 3 of the “Healthy Washington” reopening plan is changing.
Under Gov. Jay Inslee’s most recent reopening plan that took effect on March 22, counties would be evaluated every three weeks on two metrics – case rate over two weeks and hospitalization rate over one week – and needed to meet both to remain in their current phase. That means any county that failed one of the two metrics would have moved back one phase in reopening.
Now, a county must fail both of the metrics for case counts and hospitalizations to move down one phase, Inslee said on Friday. All counties in Washington are currently in Phase 3 of reopening. Larger counties and small counties with fewer than 50,000 people are evaluated on different target data.
April 12 is expected to be the first evaluation since all counties moved to Phase 3 and any possible changes would take effect on Friday, April 16. The next evaluation will take place on May 3.
“Given the incredible progress on vaccinations and our focus protecting people from severe illness, we believe analyzing and requiring both metrics together is the right approach to make sure we’re considering the connection between COVID cases and our medical system and hospitalizations,” Inslee said.
During a press conference in Spokane on Friday, Inslee added that the relationship between the number of cases and hospitalizations is a “better predictor of what’s really going on in your community”
Inslee also updated guidance for spectator events to make clear what is allowed for counties in Phase 2 and how the events are related to school graduation ceremonies.
For indoor spectator events, the occupancy of a facility may not exceed 25% of the fire code occupancy rating or 200 people maximum, whichever is less. The capacity is capped at 300 people for large venues over 100,000 square feet, according to the guidance. The maximum number includes all participants, including performers athletes and spectators, except for facility employees.
Health officials throughout Washington state have expressed concerns about rising COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, a trend that is happening nationally. Millions of Washingtonians still need to be vaccinated against COVID-19, Inslee said, and eligibility will expand to all residents 16 and over on April 15.
