Washington Counties In Modified Phase 1 Get Updated Reopening Guidance, With Full ‘Pause’ Still On
READ ON
QUICK LINKS:
–Phase 1 County Business Guidance (Updated Aug. 26)
–Washington Coronavirus Information Page
–More COVID-19 News, Coverage, Resources From NWPB
Once hotspots of the COVID-19 pandemic in Washington, Yakima, Benton and Franklin counties are getting some relaxed business restrictions after weeks of falling case counts.
Effective Thursday, churches and restaurants can open their doors to let guests inside — though just to 25% capacity. Outdoors, groups of up to five people from different households can meet up or attend fitness classes.
(See the updated Washington Department of Health guidance here.)
The changes use Phase 2 guidelines and apply to all counties in a modified Phase 1 of reopening: Yakima, Benton, Franklin, Chelan and Douglas, all east of the Cascades.
But that’s not to say counties like Yakima meet the Phase 2 standard, according to Ryan Ibach with Yakima Health District.
“We do currently meet two of the five metrics and so we need to continue to see case counts drop and to meet those targets for Phase 2,” Ibach said.
Earlier this summer, Gov. Jay Inslee paused the four-phase approach to reopening after cases statewide surged. The pause, first announced July 2, was initially for two weeks for all counties. The pause has since been extended and is still in effect.
New daily case counts across the state have dropped through August, with wider mask usage, but health officials say they’re watching to see if the trend continues.
“Right now, we are very focused on wanting to get our rates down so that we can get kids back in school, and get kids back in school full time,” state health secretary John Wiesman said in a press briefing Wednesday. “So I’m not looking frankly to add activities, I’m really focused on getting those rates down and getting kids back in school.”
Related Stories:
From ‘Freaking Pissed’ To ‘Big Things’: How One Olympia Gym Survived The Pandemic Uncertainty
It was almost a year ago that Athena Fitness in Olympia was facing financial doom. The women-owned business had opened just before the pandemic struck. In August of last year, new COVID restrictions threatened to put the owners out of business. So, what’s happened since?
15 Months Into Restrictions, Washington Mostly Drops COVID Business And Crowd Limitations
Fifteen months after Washington state’s first “stay at home” order was issued in response to the coronavirus, businesses across the state are now allowed to return to pre-pandemic operations.
Governor Says All Washington Counties Will Stay In Their Current Reopening Phase…For Now
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Tuesday said all of the state’s counties will remain in their current phase of the state’s economic reopening plan and won’t face more restrictions because new COVID cases are levelling off after a recent spike.