Thurston County among 10 that can apply now to move to Phase 2 of reopening economy

Thurston County is among 10 counties that is now eligible to move to phase 2 of reopening the economy sooner than June 1, Gov. Jay Inslee announced Tuesday.

Thurston can apply to the state to reopen businesses faster because it has had less than 10 new cases per 100,000 residents over a 14-day span. The other counties are Mason, Lewis, Kitsap, Clallam, Island, San Juan, Clark, Spokane, and Adams.

Phase 2 allows retail in-store purchases, restaurant seating with 50 percent capacity and table sizes no larger than 5, new construction, and the reopening of hair and nail salons, and barbers.

For the state to approve applications to move to phase 2, Thurston and other counties are required to show they have sufficient local hospital bed capacity, adequate personal protective equipment supplies for health care workers, as well as the ability to perform COVID-19 outbreak investigations.

“This is really something we ought to feel good about in the state of Washington — the ability of people going back to work, the ability of people going back to restaurants after this most difficult time of economic anxiety and social distress,” Inslee said at a press conference.

Thurston Commissioners respond

The Thurston County Commissioners were meeting Tuesday morning and briefly addressed the sooner-than-expected Phase 2 reopening opportunity.

“People out there are really hurting,” said Commissioner Gary Edwards about the effect the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the local economy. Edwards wanted to know what the board could do to expedite the application process for the Phase 2 reopening.

Thurston County Manager Ramiro Chavez said he was working under the assumption that the board wants to move forward on the application, so one of his first steps is to meet with the county’s acting Health Officer, Dr. Diana Yu.

“I want to hear her perspective and I’m planning to do that today,” Chavez said.

Commissioner John Hutchings said it is a “pretty comprehensive application” that will take some time to complete, but it’s also a priority.

Hutchings said he is aware of some county residents who have lost their businesses in the last two weeks. “I would love to stop that bleeding,” he said.

Commissioner Tye Menser also expressed support. “I’m happy to expedite our application and move our community forward,” he said.

The rest of the state

The state health department already had approved the applications of 10 other counties to move to phase 2 of Inslee’s four-phase plan to reopen the state’s economy. They are Asotin, Columbia, Garfield, Lincoln, Ferry, Pend Oreille, Skamania, Stevens, Wahkiakum, and Whitman. Jefferson and Grays Harbor counties are eligible for a variance but haven’t applied.

Those counties plus the 10 counties announced Tuesday are home to about a third of the state’s residents, Inslee said.

The rest of the state is scheduled to move to phase 2 on June 1, but Inslee repeated on Tuesday that it’s unclear whether that timeline can be met.

“So the other counties unfortunately have too high infections to justify moving to phase 2 at this moment. Hopefully, their numbers will come down over time and we look at them on a daily basis and there has been some progress in this regard,” he said.

Also Tuesday, Inslee said the state is considering directing businesses to encourage their customers to wear masks or face coverings when indoors. The governor said he plans to say more on this soon.

“We want to have broad use of masks when we’re inside in public,” he said. “We’ve learned that inside conditions keep the virus in, where it hovers. As we learn more about this virus, we’ve learned that it’s more transmittable than we knew, that even breathing and talking loud projects things further.”

When Inslee on May 1 announced the extension of the stay-at-home order through May 31 to continue the social distancing strategy against the new coronavirus pandemic, he announced businesses would reopen in four phases, each one separated by at least three weeks.

The new criteria that Inslee announced Tuesday for the next round of reopenings is consistent with federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for reopening regions nationwide. It will be used for the remaining counties that are still in phase 1, Inslee said.

Small business grants awarded

Also Tuesday, Inslee and the state Department of Commerce announced the first round of grants approved for 501 small businesses impacted by COVID-19 through the Governor’s Working Washington Small Business emergency grant program.

Businesses with up to 10 employees in 20 counties including Pierce, Franklin, Lewis, and Walla Walla were awarded grants ranging from $566 to $10,000 to cover costs including rent, utility bills, supplies, inventory and other operating expenses.

This story was originally published May 19, 2020 at 11:15 AM with the headline "Thurston County among 10 that can apply now to move to Phase 2 of reopening economy."