5 More WA Regions Will Enter Phase 2 Reopening Sunday

OLYMPIA, WA — Five additional regions have been cleared to enter Phase 2 of Gov. Jay Inslee's Healthy Washington plan to reopen the state.

The governor announced the news at a conference Thursday, where he confirmed that the five new regions would enter Phase 2 starting Sunday, Feb. 15.

The announcement means that, by this weekend 7 out of 8 of Washington's regions will have entered the second phase. The lone holdout is the South Central region, comprised of Kittitas, Yakima, Benton, Franklin, Walla Walla, and Columbia counties. The region represents just 8 percent of Washington's total population, but has had a disproportionate number of the state's COVID-19 cases - particularly Yakima County, which has struggled with outbreaks in its agricultural industry.

On Feb. 1, the Puget Sound and West regions became the first two areas to enter Phase 2. Those two regions include seven counties: Snohomish, King, Pierce, Lewis Thurston, Pacific, and Grays Harbor.

For a region to move ahead to Phase 2 of the Healthy Washington Plan, it needs to meet three of the four following metrics:

• A decreasing or flat trend in the two-week rate of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents.
• A decreasing or flat trend in COVID-19 hospital admission over the past two weeks.
• ICU occupancy under 90 percent.
• COVID-19 test positivity of less than 10 percent.

The South Central region currently meets two out of the four metrics. At the governor's conference Thursday, he expressed confidence that they too could meet a third metric soon.

"We're looking forward to them moving forward as soon as possible," Inslee said.

The governor also thanked Washingtonians for making sacrifices and following COVID-19 safety guidelines like avoiding social gatherings and wearing masks, which he credited for the recent decline in new coronavirus cases.

"Because we have been following the science, this is a large part why these numbers are going down and why we're being able to open up 92 percent of our state to further economic activity," said Inslee. "I want to thank everyone who has been part of this mutual effort. Everybody who is making these individual decisions are part of a statewide effort to save lives."

Entering Phase 2 lifts several restrictions, allowing for the return of indoor dining, movie theaters, gyms, and music venues, among other changes.

As those and other businesses reopen and begin their attempts to recover from the economic damage the pandemic caused, Inslee says the state will be supporting them through several funding programs. At Thursday's conference, the governor announced an additional $87 million for rental assistance and business assistance programs.

Inslee also touched on the $2.2 billion COVID-19 relief bill recently passed by the state legislature. That funding includes $325 million more for additional rental assistance and $240 for Working Washington grants to support local businesses.

"We need to use this funding to keep our relief efforts going while we wait for further federal assistance," Inslee said.

Inslee said he intends to sign the relief bill sometime next week.