Whatcom, North advance to Phase 2 of COVID-19 reopening plan

Dig out your credit cards and gym clothes, Whatcom County. We’re moving to Phase 2!

Gov. Jay Inslee on Thursday, Feb. 11 — one day earlier than expected — announced in an online briefing that Whatcom County will be moving to Phase 2 of the state’s “Healthy Washington — Roadmap to Recovery Plan” on Monday, Feb. 15, along with North Region cohorts Island, San Juan and Skagit counties.

What that means is, beginning Monday, Whatcom County restaurants and indoor fitness centers will be allowed to open indoors at 25% capacity. In addition, sports competitions could resume with limited spectators, and wedding and funeral ceremonies can increase capacities.

Additionally allowed in Phase 2 are indoor social gatherings with five or fewer people and outdoor gatherings with 15 or fewer people, both limited to two households. But restrictions for religious services, retail stores, professional and personal services do not change.

The North Region was not alone in getting good news, as Inslee advanced five of the state’s eight regions to Phase 2 to join the Puget Sound and West regions, which were already there. The East, North Central, Northwest and Southwest shared in the North’s good news, while only the South Central Region — made up of Kittitas, Yakima, Benton, Franklin, Walla Walla and Columbia counties — remains in Phase 1.

“Ninety-two percent of the state of Washington will be able to move forward with some additional economic activity,” Inslee said during the briefing. “We’re very pleased about this.”

Inslee credited residents for “following science” — wearing masks and limiting social interactions — along with businesses following rules and finding innovative ways to operate as the reason seven of the state’s eight regions will be in Phase 2 beginning next week.

Whatcom County residents, restaurants and gyms have been waiting anxiously for Thursday’s announcement since Inslee first presented the new reopening plan Jan. 5. The wait got even more excruciating on Jan. 28, when Inslee not only announced that the first two regions were moving to Phase 2, but also that analysis of four key metrics would now be done every two weeks, instead of weekly.

But Whatcom’s turn has finally come, and not a moment too soon, as county businesses attempt to recover from the financial impact the pandemic has had on them the past year.

“This is very good news! It means our community’s health is improving and our businesses will have more opportunity to serve their clients,” Whatcom County Executive Satpal Sidhu told The Bellingham Herald in an emailed statement.

The North Region actually easily made it into Phase 2.

Inslee on Jan. 28 dialed back the requirements to advance, saying regions now only needed to meet three of four key metrics, rather than all four. But the North was one of three regions to meet all four requirements:

▪ COVID-19 case trends: The North’s 14-day infection rate (number of cases per 100,000 residents) Jan. 17-30 was 32% lower than its infection rate Jan. 3-16 — topping the minimum 10% improvement required.

▪ Hospitalization trends: The North’s 14-day rate of COVID-related hospitalizations from Jan. 24-Feb. 6 was 17% lower than its rate Jan. 10-23 — surpassing the minimum 10% improvement required.

▪ ICU occupancy: The North’s seven-day occupancy rates for ICU staffed beds from Jan. 31 to Feb. 6 was 53% — beating the 90% maximum allowed.

▪ COVID-19 test positivity: The North’s seven-day molecular test positivity rate from Jan. 17 to 23 was 6% — bettering the 10% maximum allowed.

“This is good news for our community,” Whatcom County Health Department Director Erika Lautenbach said in a release. “We’re happy to see that Whatcom is trending in the right direction, and that trend has contributed to our region moving forward.

“This creates more opportunities for our local businesses to open and rebuild and more options for our community to support our local businesses.”

What’s next?

As of now, there is no Phase 3 that the North or any other region would be eligible to advance to further open businesses.

Staying put is all we can hope to do at this point.

As quickly as Whatcom and the North advanced to Phase 2 Thursday, we could have the benefits of reopening ripped away and be put back in the Phase 1 penalty box if the region’s metrics start to slip.

To remain in Phase 2, regions must continue to meet at least three of the four metrics, though case and hospitalization trends are considered passable if they remain flat — 0% to 10% — and are not trending in the wrong direction.

Sidhu emphasized the need for Whatcom County residents to continue with safe practices.

“We have the ability to slow the spread of COVID in our community through our individual actions,” his statement read. “So let’s keep doing what’s in our power to decrease infection rates — wear a mask, wash your hands, keep socially distant, adhere to the guidance given for the phase we are in.

“That’s the single best thing we can do to support local businesses and the jobs they provide and to ensure we stay in Phase 2.”

—Robert Mittendorf ([email protected]) contributed to this story.