OCEAN SHORES, Wash. — Beach access roads are blocked, hotels are closed, and businesses have been shut down for weeks in Ocean Shores.
Coronavirus has had a big impact on the little coastal community.
“Our businesses are not only ready to open, they need to open, they are fearful of going under and we just can’t have that, we can’t have our economies collapse,” said Ocean Shores Mayor Crystal Dingler.
Gov. Jay Inslee announced Washington will reopen in four phases. Ten smaller counties, with fewer COVID-19 cases, have the chance to reopen faster if they apply for a variance.
Grays Harbor County falls into that category. They've had 12 cases and zero deaths.
"We've worked very hard to keep our numbers very low and we want to keep them that way,” said Sheriff Rick Scott, Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff Scott said they plan to be cautious.
"We want to be absolutely confident that, if we choose to expand our phase to something greater than phase one, that we're doing so in a way that we can manage the requirements,” he said.
Starting from Tuesday, they plan to follow the state by opening some outdoor recreational activities, including boating, fishing and golf.
Dingler said she plans to reopen hotels in Ocean Shores by May 18. She hopes other businesses can reopen in June, but wants restrictions.
"I personally believe that we should be requiring masks in our community,” she said.
If Grays Harbor County reopens faster than the rest of the state, they want to make sure that their community stays safe.
"It has to be a gradual opening and then we watch and see if anything bad happens and, if it does, then we have to stop and reassess,” said Dingler.
Currently there isn’t a timeline on when beach access roads will reopen.
Dingler said she plans to speak with other coastal community leaders and hopes they can reopen their beach accesses at the same time.
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