EDITORS NOTE: According to an email from Mike Steele, Executive Director of the Lake Chelan Chamber of Commerce, there have been adjustments to the original application. The original application can be found at here: https://www.lakechelan.com/COVID/?inf_contact_key=a07da043c2e94cad5a78f72fbefac13d680f8914173f9191b1c0223e68310bb1 See the letter from the Secretary of Health for those changes.
OLYMPIA -- On June 10 Washington State Secretary of Health John Wiesman approved three additional counties to move into the next phase of Gov. Jay Inslee’s Safe Start plan.
Chelan and Douglas counties are approved to move into a modified version of Phase 1 and Asotin County is approved to move from Phase 2 to Phase 3.
A total of three counties are in Phase 1, three counties are in a modified version of Phase 1, 24 counties are in Phase 2 and nine counties are in Phase 3. Benton and Franklin counties have applied to move from Phase 1 to Phase 2, and Skamania County has applied to move from Phase 2 to 3. These applications are currently under review by the department.
Businesses approved to move into a new phase must comply with all health and safety requirements outlined in the guidance to reopen.
On May 29, Governor Jay Inslee, in collaboration with the Washington State Department of Health, established a data-driven approach to reopen Washington and modify social and recreational activities while minimizing the health impacts of COVID-19. Washington will move through the phased reopening county-by-county, allowing for flexibility and local control to address COVID-19 activity geographically.
This approach reduces the risk of COVID-19 to Washington’s most vulnerable populations and preserves capacity in our health care system, while safely opening up businesses and resuming gatherings, travel, shopping and recreation. The plan allows counties and the secretary of health to holistically review COVID-19 activity and the ability for the county to respond when determining if a county is ready to move into a new phase.
To apply to move to the next phase, counties must submit an application to the Washington State Department of Health. The application process requires support from the local health officer, the local board of health and the county executive or county commission.
Each county must demonstrate they have adequate local hospital bed capacity as well as adequate PPE supplies to keep health care workers safe. The metric goals for moving between phases are intended to be applied as targets, not hardline measures. Where one target is not fully achieved, actions taken with a different target may offset a county’s overall risk. Some of the metrics the secretary of health will evaluate in addition to other information provided by counties include:
Requests to move into the next phase are reviewed by the secretary of health, who can approve the plan as submitted, approve with modifications or deny the application. If circumstances change within the jurisdiction, the secretary of health can modify the current phase or move the county back into an earlier phase. A county can also identify when they need to return to an earlier phase or eliminate approved activities.
Learn more about reopening and the statewide response to COVID-19 at coronavirus.wa.gov.
Individuals can also find COVID-19 information on the Department of Health’s website or call 1-800-525-0127. Individuals can text the word “coronavirus” to 211-211 to receive information and updates on their phone wherever they are.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here