Thurston Board of Health OKs move to Phase 2, but state won’t approve until next week
The Thurston County Board of Health took a step forward Friday in the application process for a variance that, if approved by the state Secretary of Health, would allow the county to move to Phase 2 of re-opening the economy from the COVID-19 shutdown.
Phase 2 allows in-store retail 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.
Thurston became eligible to apply for a variance Tuesday, when Gov. Jay Inslee announced 10 new counties could apply under expanded criteria. Because Thurston has had fewer than 10 new cases per 100,000 residents over a 14-day span, it qualifies.
The number of new, confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Thurston County residents has declined in recent weeks, and, as of Friday, no new cases had been reported in residents since May 16.
For Memorial Day weekend, Thurston remains in Phase 1. But that could change as early as next week.
The significance of the Board of Health vote
In a unanimous vote Friday, the Board of Health approved moving forward with the county’s application, concurring with a recommendation from Acting Health Officer Dr. Diana Yu. In a letter dated May 20, Yu recommended the county submit a request for a variance, saying she thinks Thurston’s current caseload, testing capacity, and ability to do case and contact follow-up meet state criteria.
“I believe we can safely enter into Phase 2, continuing to encourage citizens to socially distance, wear cloth face coverings when unable to social distance and continue to follow proper hand hygiene,” Yu wrote.
Yu’s letter kicked off the process, and the Board of Health’s vote was another step toward submitting a final application.
“Today is as momentous day as was March 12, when the Board of County Commissioners ... and the Board of Health declared an emergency,” County Commissioner John Hutchings said Friday. “This is the first step in that recovery. ... There’s still concerns, and we still need to be wise, but it’s a momentous day, nonetheless.”
What happens now
According to the governor’s office, local hospitals need to submit letters certifying information such as surge capacity and supply of personal protective equipment. The county has received letters from both local hospitals, a Thurston County Public Health & Social Services spokesperson wrote in an email to The Olympian Friday.
The application also requires the county to submit an extensive document showing, among other things, its testing capacity, resources to perform case investigations and contact tracing, number of isolation and quarantine facilities, and capacity to conduct outbreak investigations in settings such as jails and skilled nursing facilities.
Over the three-day Memorial Day weekend, the county’s focus is on completing the application to the extent possible, according to spokesperson Meghan Porter. The Board of County Commissioners, which is made up of the same commissioners who sit on the Board of Health, plans to review the full application on Tuesday.
“The county is moving forward with the application process as quickly as we can,” Porter said.
The state already has approved applications submitted by Adams, Lewis and Spokane counties, which were made eligible to apply at the same time Thurston was. Commissioner Gary Edwards pushed on Friday for Thurston to expedite its application process, saying he was willing to do “whatever it takes.”
“If we can, I’d like to convene an emergency Board of County Commissioners,” Edwards said. “If we can’t, because we’re not quite there yet, I would like the public at least to know that.”
County Manager Ramiro Chavez said staff had a final draft Friday but needs the weekend to finalize details and ensure the application is correct.
“It’s not just about taking a legislative action, it’s all the background work that needs to occur in making sure that we meet every single criteria the application requires,” Chavez said.
After it’s submitted, the state Secretary of Health will review Thurston’s application and can approve the plans as submitted, approve them with modifications, or deny the application altogether. The timeline for a decision varies, a state Department of Health spokesperson wrote in an email to The Olympian, but the state aims to review applications within 1-3 days of receiving them.
As of Thursday, the state had not rejected any variance applications from eligible counties, according to the DOH spokesperson.
According to a DOH news release, 14 counties had been approved to move to Phase 2 as of Friday: Adams, Asotin, Columbia, Garfield, Grays Harbor, Lewis, Lincoln, Ferry, Pend Oreille, Skamania, Spokane, Stevens, Wahkiakum, and Whitman. An application from Kittitas County was paused, due to an outbreak investigation.
Eleven more counties, including Thurston, are eligible to apply. Variances can be revoked if a county’s circumstances change, according to the release.
Under the governor’s phased plan, the entire state could move to Phase 2 on June 1, but Gov. Inslee has said repeatedly that data on the virus’ spread could delay that move.
This story was originally published May 22, 2020 at 1:58 PM.
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