Thurston County expects to apply for Phase 3 of reopening Wednesday
Thurston County officials expect to apply Wednesday to move to Phase 3 of Gov. Jay Inslee’s four-phase plan to reopen from shutdowns prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic. If approved, the move would allow more business and social activity to begin under public health guidance and safety criteria.
The county will have been in Phase 2 for three weeks, the minimum amount of time a county must stay in each phase under the governor’s plan.
Acting Thurston County Health Officer Dr. Diana Yu told county commissioners Tuesday that she will be recommending the county apply to move to Phase 3, though she’s not sure if it will be approved by the state.
One of the state’s target metrics for moving to the next phase is fewer than 25 cases per 100,000 residents over 14 days, as well as hospitalizations for lab-confirmed cases to be flat or decreasing, and a reproductive rate of less than 1 if that number is available. However, those aren’t hard-line measures, according to the plan, and the state Secretary of Health also considers data that show a county’s ability to respond to situations such as an outbreak.
Thurston County has had 42 new cases since June 1, which is under the threshold of 74, according to county data.
As of Tuesday morning, three Washington counties were in Phase 1, three were in a modified version of Phase 1, 22 were in Phase 2, and 11 were in Phase 3, according to a news release from the state Department of Health.
The Thurston County Board of Health is slated to meet at 9 a.m. Wednesday to consider concurring with Yu’s recommendation, which will be followed by a similar meeting of the Board of County Commissioners, which is made up of the same three commissioners as the Board of Health.
By noon or shortly after, the application could be submitted, according to County Manager Ramiro Chavez.
Since entering Phase 2 on May 27, more than 60 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Thurston County residents, according to county data, bringing the county’s total to 197 as of Tuesday morning. Of the four county residents who have died from complications related to the disease, three have occurred since moving to Phase 2.
Many of the new cases and all three of the latest COVID-19 deaths here are related to outbreaks at two long-term care facilities that are still under investigation. But, staff members at the facilities that have tested positive had been out in the community and the latest cases are in younger people and not related to the outbreaks, Yu said Tuesday.
In response to a question from Commissioner Gary Edwards, Yu said she is not aware of anyone here with COVID-19 who has reported attending recent protests.
“The biggest problem that I continue to see is our community’s response,” Yu said earlier in the meeting. “The response of the individuals in our community.”
The county meets the guidelines it needs to in order to move forward, she said, but the numbers are going up because the community “is not responding.”
Dr. Yu stressed that people need to continue to follow public health guidance, including social distancing and wearing face coverings if possible. Yu issued a directive requiring residents to wear face coverings in many public settings the same day Thurston’s application to move to Phase 2 was approved.
“People just need to do it,” Yu said. “I will not hesitate to recommend that we move back to Phase 2, even if we’re approved to move to Phase 3, if the numbers continue to go the way they are and people continue to disregard the prevention messages. Because I don’t want any more deaths, I don’t want more hospitalizations. I — you don’t want more people to die from COVID, because it is preventable. It is preventable, but we, individually, have to take the actions to prevent it.”
What happens in Phase 3
Until there’s a vaccine, public health officials recommend people stay 6 feet away from one another, wear cloth face coverings in public spaces when not eating or drinking, stay home if sick, avoid people who are sick, wash hands frequently with soap and water, cover coughs and sneezes, avoid touching eyes, noses, and mouths with unwashed hands, and disinfect surfaces regularly in every phase.
Phase 3 of reopening includes the following, under public health guidelines and safety criteria:
- Outdoor group recreational sports activities with 50 or fewer people;
- Recreational facilities, such as gyms and public pools, at less than 50% capacity;
- Gatherings of 50 people or fewer;
- Non-essential travel;
- Restaurants and taverns at less than 75% capacity and with tables seating 10 people or fewer;
- Seating in bar areas in restaurants and taverns at less than 50% capacity;
- Customer-facing government services, though teleworking is still strongly encouraged;
- Libraries;
- Museums; and
- All other business activities not listed, except for nightclubs and events with more than 50 people.
This story was originally published June 16, 2020 at 1:46 PM.
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