Thurston County Approved To Enter Phase 3

OLYMPIA, WA — Thurston County has now been approved to enter Phase 3 of Gov. Jay Inslee's Safe Start plan.

Now that the county is in Phase 3, a number of restrictions are lifted including:

• Restaurants and taverns can now be filled up to 75 percent capacity.
• Gyms and public pools can reopen at half capacity.
• Public gatherings can now include up to 50 people. This also allows for outdoor sports activities.
• All non-essential travel is allowed.

Now that Thurston has been approved to enter Phase 3, it will be at least three weeks before it is eligible to enter the fourth and final phase of the Safe Start plan, which allows for the reopening of nightclubs, concert venues, and large sporting events.

Washington has yet to see a county enter Phase 4, but the state now has as many counties in the third phase as it does in the second. Currently, 17 Washington counties are now in Phase 3, and 17 are also in Phase 2. Three counties remain in Phase 1: Yakima, Benton and Franklin counties. Yakima County in particular is likely to remain in Phase 1 for the foreseeable future after a recent spike in cases in its farming industry.

Several other counties have applications out to move forward. Kitsap county has applied to enter Phase 3, and Cowlitz and Walla Walla counties have both applied to enter a "modified Phase 3," which would allow for a greater reopening than Phase 2, but not quite as much as a full Phase 3. Benton and Franklin counties have also applied to enter Phase 2, but their application is on hold after a recent outbreak in their area. Both counties share a health district and must move through the phases together.

In order to apply to enter the next phase, a county must have the unanimous support of their local health officers, board of health and county executives or commission. Once the county decides to submit an application, it is reviewed by the state Secretary of Health John Wiesman who can either approve or deny it.

The Secretary of Health judges applications on a variety of metrics, including the state's hospital bed capacity, PPE supplies, and the number of new coronavirus cases per 100,000 residents over the last two weeks. How each county is faring in those metrics can be tracked online using the state's COVID-19 risk assessment dashboard.