Pierce County Rolls Back Into Phase 2: What To Know

TACOMA, WA — Pierce County has officially been rolled back into Phase 2 of the Healthy Washington plan.

On Monday, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) announced that three of Washington's 39 counties had failed their Phase 3 review for having too many daily coronavirus cases and too many COVID-19 hospitalizations, and that those three counties, Pierce, Cowlitz and Whitman, would be re-entering Phase 2 on Friday.

Attempts were made to avoid the rollback. Last week, when it became clear the county was failing the state's metrics, several local leaders including Pierce County Executive Bruce Dammeier and Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards issued a letter to the governor asking the state to postpone Pierce County's evaluation for three weeks in the hopes that the county could get case counts under control once again — a request which Gov. Jay Inslee and the DOH denied.

When asked Thursday why he didn't put a hold on the rollback, the governor explained the increasing case counts posed too significant a risk for a wait-and-see approach.

"The virus doesn't just allow us to call a time-out, we don't get time-outs in this effort, and that's why we've had to act," Inslee said.

As a result, the state has reimposed Phase 2 COVID-19 safety restrictions in Pierce County, including:

• Retail stores, restaurants, bars, houses of worship, personal and professional services have had their maximum capacity reduced from 50 to 25 percent.
• Bars and restaurants need to end alcohol service an hour earlier, at 11 p.m., and limit visitors to a maximum of 6 people per table.
• Indoor entertainment like concerts, theaters and museums are restricted to 200 people at a time, or 25 percent capacity, whichever is less.
• Outdoor social gatherings should be limited to 5 people from outside the household, down from 1o.

The county will remain in Phase 2 at least until the next statewide review from the DOH, scheduled for May 3. That gives the county three weeks to tamp down on COVID-19 transmissions until it meets either of these two metrics:

• Fewer than 200 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents over the past 14 days.
  • As of Monday, Pierce County's 14-day case rate was at 250.3, according to the DOH.
• Fewer than 5 hospitalizations per 100,000 residents in the week leading up to the review.
  • Pierce County's hospitalization rate was 6.8 at the time of Monday's evaluation.

The county must fail both metrics to remain in Phase 2, so it could just improve case counts or just see fewer hospitalizations and pass, though both metrics do normally go hand in hand.

“This rollback is disappointing, but we know what we must do to reduce disease spread and open up more of our economy,” said Tacoma - Pierce County Health Department's Director of Health Anthony L-T Chen.

One way the county is hoping to make a quick turnaround is by ramping up vaccination efforts. The state has agreed to increase Pierce County's vaccine allotment by 5,000 doses per week, though some county leaders say that still isn't enough: since Monday's announcement Executive Dammeier and Lakewood Mayor Don Anderson have each written letters to Inslee asking for an additional 15,000 doses per week.

"A relatively high percentage of the residents of Lakewood are economically disadvantaged or are members of communities of color that are disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic," writes Anderson. "Even if we receive our proportionate share of vaccine, our residents are at a disproportionate risk of illness and negative economic impact. An under allocation is unconscionable. "

The governor has denied that request, arguing that the county has received its fair share of vaccines.

The Tacoma - Pierce County Health Department has not issued a statement on the issue of vaccine allocation, but has shared concerns that many of the new COVID-19 cases in the county are being driven by unsafe social gatherings.

"We are seeing more cases in small and informal gatherings," said Chen. "I know everyone is eager to get back to doing what they love, but we cannot let our guard down and allow the pandemic to come roaring back."

That's a concern the governor does share — on Thursday, Inslee announced a "Take It Outside" campaign to try and convince residents to move social gatherings outdoors where the chance of transmission is lower.

While health leaders work on the vaccine rollout and other preventative measures, lawmakers say they're doing what they can to offset the economic fallout the three-week stasis is sure to cause. The Pierce County Council has already approved a $4 million plan to create new "Rollback Relief" grants for small local businesses impacted by the new restrictions. Meanwhile, Executive Dammeier has proposed spending $48.2 million from American Rescue Plan Act funding to support local businesses during the pandemic.