10th Washington County Approved To Enter Phase 2 Of Reopening

WASHINGTON — Asotin County is now the 10th Washington county cleared to enter Phase 2 of Gov. Inslee's Safe Start plan to reopen the state as the coronavirus pandemic is brought under control.

Now that the county has entered Phase 2, a number of industries are allowed to get back to work, as long as they follow some new safety guidelines and practice social distancing.

In Phase 2, restaurants and bars are allowed to reopen if they stay under 50 percent capacity. Retailers, manufacturers, business offices, hair and nail salons, pet groomers, nannies and housecleaning services are all allowed to go back to work as well. Many outdoor recreational activities are allowed once again and restrictions on non-essential travel are loosened so residents can travel to the newly-reopened businesses.

Asotin County closely follows Whitman County, which was approved to enter Phase 2 on Friday.

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The other cleared counties include Columbia, Garfield, Lincoln, Ferry, Pend Oreille, Wahkiakum, Skamania and Stevens counties. Kittitas has applied to enter Phase 2 early but its application remains under review.

Counties must meet several criteria before they can be approved to reopen early. They must have a population of less than 75,000 and no new coronavirus cases confirmed for the last three weeks. Asotin County has a population of roughly 22,000.

Counties must also prove that they have hospital space in case of future infections and that they can adequately provide the personal protective equipment necessary to keep workers safe as they go back to their regular jobs.

The remainder of the state is expected to enter the second phase around June 1, though the governor says that could be delayed if there are any major coronavirus outbreaks or flare-ups.