November 3, 2024

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Health's Like Heaven.

Gov. Inslee makes it harder for counties to backslide in reopening

The Washington Capitol is seen through cherry blossoms in Olympia.

The Washington Capitol is seen through cherry blossoms in Olympia.

AP

Counties are less likely to slide backward to a more restrictive phase of reopening when the state evaluates COVID-19 metrics on Monday, after Gov. Jay Inslee updated the state’s “Healthy Washington” plan on Friday.

The entire state is currently in Phase 3 of the plan, which in part allows 50% occupancy at restaurants, gyms, retail stores, and movie theaters.

The plan previously would’ve sent counties back a phase if they missed one of two metrics, related to case rates and hospitalizations. Going back to Phase 2 would in part mean going back to 25% occupancy for those businesses.

Inslee has now loosened that criteria: Counties can miss one of the two metrics and stay put. If they miss both, then they backslide.

“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 in a prepared statement.

He made the change just ahead of the first evaluation of counties under the plan, scheduled for Monday, with any phase changes to take effect next Friday, April 16. Under the plan, these evaluations are expected every three weeks.

The state has experienced a recent uptick in COVID-19 activity. The day before Inslee announced the change in reopening criteria, he voiced concern that some counties were on the verge of reverting to Phase 2. Health officials Wednesday warned “a handful of counties” could potentially move backward.

“Both the number of infections and the number of hospitalizations is going up,” Inslee said at a Thursday press conference. “We have concerns about that. As you know, on Monday we will be evaluating the status of counties. We’re concerned about several counties that may be in a situation to go back to Phase 2.”

Pierce County is one of those counties. On Wednesday, local health officials said it was not meeting either of the two metrics. If the state finds that’s true Monday, the county would presumably still backslide under the updated criteria. Franklin County’s case rate had also been creeping close to missing that metric.

New guidance around spectator events in Phase 2 also was released Friday. It includes that professional and college sports with approved league or conference plans, and school graduation ceremonies with healthy and safety plans, can follow Phase 3 guidance, even if a county has to move back to Phase 2.

The threshold for staying in Phase 3 differs based on a county’s population. A county with more than 50,000 residents will be able to stay in Phase 3 if it’s had:

  • fewer than 200 new cases per 100,000 over two weeks; or
  • fewer than five new hospitalizations per 100,000 over one week.

For counties with fewer than 50,000 people, the metrics are:

  • fewer than 100 new cases over two weeks; and
  • fewer than three new hospitalizations over one week.

After Monday’s evaluation, the next is planned for May 3.

Profile Image of Sara Gentzler

Sara Gentzler joined The Olympian in June 2019 as a county and courts reporter. She now covers Washington state government for The Olympian, The News Tribune, The Bellingham Herald, and Tri-City Herald. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Creighton University.

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