Washington state governor: Counties in modified phase 1 are going to phase 2
Gov. Jay Inslee said Tuesday that Yakima, Benton, Franklin, Douglas and Chelan counties will move to phase two of the state’s Safe Start plan in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Those counties had been in a modified phase one.
“These counties and their people have made tremendous progress,” Inslee said during a virtual press conference.
In early June in Yakima County, for instance, he said the average cases per 100,000 people was 753. Now it’s 93.
Benton is at 109, which the governor said is a quarter the rate there in July.
“The COVID risk was off the charts for these counties last summer ... ,” he said. “As a result of masking up, they have knocked down those numbers dramatically.”
The governor said that the “COVID risk assessment has leveled out when you compare the five modified phase one counties to their neighbors,” and that moving those counties to phase two “will better align them with the rest of the region.”
He called the change “relatively modest,” as far as the additional activity allowed.
“It means some larger occupancy for religious services, restaurants, wedding receptions and more under phase two,” he said.
Among other activity, phase two allows for some youth and adult sports, gathering with up to five people outside your household a week, and increased occupancy limits at some businesses. It also allows movie theaters, libraries and museums to open at 25-percent occupancy.
Inslee cautioned that “we’ve got more work to do,” and emphasized the continued importance of wearing masks.
“This has and will continue to be a long battle with COVID-19 in every county of our state,” the governor said.
Asked by a reporter about the pause on counties advancing phases, and whether the change in modified phase one counties means other places might start going forward or backward soon, Inslee said “it doesn’t portend necessarily major movement through the phases.”
He also noted the uptick in COVID activity that the state has reported in recent weeks.
“If I could characterize this I think this is more an effort to do two things, one to recognize the progress these counties have made, because they have been dedicated to saving themselves, and they’ve done that,” Inslee said. “And two, a matter of fairness, because without raising them up there were some counties with higher infection rates, significantly higher infection rates than they had, and yet these five counties were still in a lesser level.”
Inslee also said that the Office of Financial Management will run something called the Washington Recovery Group that’ll start meeting this month. It’s meant to coordinate between state agencies and local governments and other groups, such as higher education and business.
“We need to move forward to mitigate the severe economic impacts of this pandemic in safe and creative ways,” he said. “... This group is going to help the state agencies coordinate recovery efforts, and local governments, higher education and the private sector.”
A press release from the governor’s office said: “State agency experts will work with local stakeholders and tribal partners to implement recovery solutions and pathways. Those ideas and policy solutions will be presented to cabinet agencies and the Office of Financial Management.”
The statement listed focuses of: community and social services, education and childcare, employment and jobs, equity and social justice, health and healthcare, housing, infrastructure and energy, and support for small business.
This story was originally published October 13, 2020 at 3:05 PM with the headline "Washington state governor: Counties in modified phase 1 are going to phase 2."
