Snohomish County Leaders Push For Phase 2 Reopening

EVERETT, WA — Several Snohomish County leaders are asking the state to approve the second reopening phase, despite a rate of infection that remains above the threshold required for a variance in the governor's Safe Start plan.

Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers, County Council Chair Nate Nehring and Board of Health Chair Stephanie Wright said the council's recent approval of a comprehensive COVID-19 response plan equips the county to respond to any further outbreaks or surges.

The application will need support from the county council and the board of health before it is formally sent to the state. Both government bodies have scheduled emergency meetings to consider the move on Friday.

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"Snohomish County residents have paid a heavy price from the COVID-19 pandemic," Somers said. "We will respond to the pandemic with everything we have and recover as quickly as we can. We now must move forward with our request to enter Phase II and help our people safely get back to work."

So far, 26 Washington counties have moved into the second of four reopening phases, allowing for the limited return of restaurants, salons and retail stores, with added health precautions. Under the governor's current criteria for a variance, counties must report fewer than 10 new cases per 100,000 residents over two weeks.

According to the Snohomish Health District, that number is currently just below 30.

"Snohomish County believes most hospitals currently have sufficient capacity to meet any potential surge, and the Health District intends to submit letters from each as part of any approved variance proposal," officials wrote in a news release. "The rate of infection approaches the parameters set by the state, if subsets of irregular outbreaks, such as assisted living facilities, are taken into account."

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Related: Snohomish County Man Was Not 'Patient Zero,' Health Officer Says

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According to the county, legislation approved by the council Wednesday provides more resources toward personal protective equipment, testing, contact tracing efforts, and quarantine facilities, which are among several metrics the state monitors when considering when to move forward with reopening.

Earlier in the week, state Secretary of Health John Wiesman said the Department of Health was finalizing new standards with the governor's office, guiding how counties will move to the next phases after June 1, when the governor's stay-home order expires. Inslee said on Wednesday it was likely some counties would remain in phase 1 beyond that date, and further details would be shared by the end of the week.

In Snohomish County, where Washington saw its first coronavirus patient in January, lab tests have confirmed more than 2,900 illnesses and 145 deaths linked to COVID-19. According to the health district, 2,691 patients are classified as recovered, 351 are in isolation and 39 remain hospitalized.