Here’s what’s keeping Whatcom County from moving to Phase 2 of coronavirus’ Safe Start
Whatcom County officials are unsure when they will be allowed to advance to Phase 2 of Gov. Jay Inslee’s Safe Start plan to reopen businesses closed because of the new coronavirus pandemic.
Under Inslee’s plan, counties must show that COVID-19 is spreading more slowly before social distancing orders will be eased and more than just essential businesses can operate.
Local numbers announced Tuesday, May 26, weren’t good news as the Whatcom County Health Department reported 12 additional cases and one additional death.
One additional positive test Wednesday brought the county totals to 382 confirmed cases and 33 deaths related to coronavirus.
In a statement at its website Tuesday evening, the Health Department said interviews with infected people showed that those who ignored social distancing guidelines were at the heart of the recent spike in cases.
“We’ve traced many of our recent confirmed cases to formal settings such as work, and informal settings such as Mother’s Day parties, where people were less than 6 feet apart, for more than 15 minutes,” the Health Department said. “This includes interactions like sharing food, food preparation spaces, and bathrooms.”
Whatcom County Council members sent a letter to Inslee last week, asking for more leeway to ease the limits, which have caused layoffs and other financial hardships.
But that now seems unlikely to happen soon.
“I don’t expect the state will provide any special advance notice to the county administration about the timing of Phase 2 ahead of the public announcement,” County Executive Satpal Sidhu told The Bellingham Herald.
“Regardless of when we get the green light, I want the public to be assured that we are preparing for reopening, and we will get there,” Sidhu said.
With 21 of Washington’s 39 counties in Phase 2, Whatcom and others are eager to reopen and restart their economies. Skagit County applied early, and was denied by Gov. Jay Inslee, and Whatcom County sent a letter asking for leeway and more control on easing restrictions. But, officials say the move into Phase 2 is based on data that shows the counties meet certain health criteria.
“Eagerness doesn’t help tip the scale. The number of emails they get into my inbox doesn’t help tip the scales,” said David Postman, chief of staff for the governor’s office, during a statewide news briefing Tuesday afternoon. “We’re trying to convince people that it’s not a popularity contest or how many people they have contact us or who you know. We keep saying it, but it’s true — it’s data driven.”
To advance to Phase 2, counties must meet these benchmarks, according to Washington state:
▪ Fewer than 10 new cases per 100,000 residents over a 14-day span. Whatcom County has had 16.4 cases per 100,000 residents over the past 14 days, according to Health Department data released Tuesday.
▪ No more than 22.5 new cases in 14 days. There have been 37 new cases in Whatcom County over the past 14 days.
▪ An average of 1.6 new cases a day. Now, there’s an average of 2.6 cases a day in Whatcom County.
Counties must also show that they have the necessary testing capacity, an adequate supply of personal protective equipment, that they have isolation and quarantine facilities and the local hospital has the capacity to treat patients and surge, if needed. Counties also have to show the local health department has the capacity to conduct outbreak investigations in congregate settings, such as nursing homes and jails, and the ability to do case investigation and contact tracing, according to county variance instructions and John Wiesman, secretary of health for the Washington State Department of Health.
After that, the counties can apply for a variance to move to Phase 2.
Wiesman said during the Tuesday briefing that state officials are trying to look at the overall picture provided by the various data to safely reopen each county and the state. State officials understand that counties have different situations, Wiesman said, and are having conversations with various counties to understand unique challenges.
Wiesman said when the requirements were set for Phase 2, the bar was purposefully set high. He said this was done to ensure a safe start, and because dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic was a new situation.
As more counties begin to reopen, state officials are watching to see what their experiences are, so that the bar may not have to be set so high for further reopenings, Wiesman said. He said state officials want to proceed with as much consistency as possible.
“We’re continuing to take a look at the big picture as well. … It’s why we have these dial dashboards — so we can carefully consider the whole picture and not rely on just any one single measure moving forward and really put this all together in what we think is a safe and responsible way to reopen,” Wiesman said.
Boardman, the governor’s chief of staff, said dialogue from county officials informed the new criteria announced last Tuesday that made multiple counties eligible to apply for variances. He said they want counties to think creatively and stay in touch with state health officials regarding how they might reach Phase 2. He said while conversations are being held with county executives of some of the state’s largest counties, he doesn’t expect the bar to reach Phase 2 to move much.
State Health Officer Kathy Lofy said health officials are hoping not to see a dramatic jump in case counts for counties that have moved to Phase 2. She said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has provided advice and outlined what a rebound in cases might look like as communities begin to reopen. Lofy said the state is working with its data teams to incorporate the CDC’s advice.
Wiesman, the secretary of health, said officials will become concerned if they start interviewing people who have the new coronavirus in counties in Phase 2 and officials aren’t able to identify where they became infected or who they were in contact with. Wiesman said it becomes community spread at that point, which limits the local health department’s ability to identify, control and respond to potential outbreaks.
“I think we can move into this safely and it means all of us doing our part. … We all need to be working together on this. We need everybody acting in that responsible manner and we need the public health system to be able to quickly respond,” Wiesman said. “So if we do that, we can hopefully quickly identify any outbreaks, contain them, and be able to not have to go into a reverse course.”
In Whatcom County, the Health Department’s statement noted “The quickest way to move to Phase 2 is to limit the spread of the virus.
“That means staying home as much as possible and only going out for essential trips,” the statement said. “Practice good habits like social distancing and wearing a face-covering in public whenever you can’t maintain 6 feet from others who don’t live with you. Remember that gathering together is risky because you can spread the virus before you even feel sick.”
This story was originally published May 27, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
