3 more counties approved to move into next phase of state’s Safe Start plan

WASHINGTON — Washington State’s secretary of health has approved applications from three more counties to move into the next phase of Gov. Jay Inslee’s Safe Start plan.

Asotin County was approved Wednesday to move to Phase 3; Chelan and Douglas counties were approved to move into a modified version of Phase 1.

Currently, there are three counties in Phase 1; three in a modified version of Phase 1; 24 in Phase 2; and nine in Phase 3.

On May 29, the governor together with the State Department of Health announced a data-driven approach for counties to reopen to minimize the impact of COVID-19.

Some of the metrics being evaluated are:

COVID-19 activity: The ideal target for the number of new cases will be 25 or fewer per 100,000 residents over a 14-day period. Hospitalizations for COVID-19 should be flat or decreasing.

Healthcare system readiness: Available hospital beds in a given jurisdiction should preferably be at less than 80% occupancy.

Testing: Counties should show they have the adequate testing capacity, 50 times as many people as they have confirmed new cases per day, which equates to positive test results under 2%. They also need to show rapid turnaround time for test results, ensuring that they can work effectively to contain the virus.

Case and contact investigations: The goal is to contact 90% of cases by phone or in-person within 24 hours of receiving a positive lab test result. All of that person’s contacts should also be contacted within 48 hours of the positive test result. All cases will also be contacted during their home isolation or quarantine to help ensure the virus is successfully contained.

Protecting high-risk populations: The ideal number of outbreaks reported by week - defined as two or more non-household cases where transmission occurred at work, in congregate living, or in an institutional setting - is zero for counties under 75,000, and no higher than three for the largest counties.

To learn more about the reopening plan and the state’s response to COVID-19, go here: coronavirus.wa.gov.

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