More counties are being allowed to reopen in the state of Washington as the infection rate declines.
There were 18,611 confirmed cases as of Monday out of 289,315 total tests performed. The state also now has 1,002 coronavirus deaths.
Gov. Jay Inslee on Tuesday announced 10 additional counties would be allowed to move to Phase 2 of his four-step reopening plan. Counties with fewer than 10 new positive tests per 100,000 residents over a two-week period are eligible and include Spokane, Adams, Mason, Thurston, Lewis, Clark, Clallam, Kitsap, Island and San Juan.
Counties that choose to apply must provide a vote by the local board of health, a letter from local hospitals confirming bed capacity and the ability to perform contact tracing.
As with the counties that were eligible to reopen last week, several guidelines are in place about how restaurants and bars can operate, including occupancy limits and social distancing.
Inslee also said doctor’s offices and dentists can resume non-urgent treatment as long as they follow certain protocols.
“It’s critical that providers use good judgement in expanding access to elective care,” he said in a statement.
Those that do reopen must limit the number of people in waiting rooms and conduct temperature checks on those who enter, as well as providing personal protective equipment for employees.
The city council in Kelso, south of Olympia, will consider a proclamation this week aimed at ignoring Inslee’s “stay-at-home” order. The order has been in place since late March and was recently extended through May 31.
The proclamation would instruct local law enforcement not to enforce the order, claiming that city employees do not work for the governor.
“Businesses wishing to open and operate shall do so using responsible social distancing policies and procedures without fear of retribution or investigation from the City of Kelso,” the proclamation states.
Councilman Keenan Harvey, who submitted the proclamation, wrote on his personal Facebook page that because Inslee’s order is not “clear and concise” the state should be responsible for enforcing it.
Strikes that began last week at six Yakima Valley fruit packing plants continued Monday. The workers are asking for hazard pay and assurances from management that they are following social distancing and cleaning guidelines.
The employees, who are not unionized, are receiving assistance from Familia Unidas por la Justicia, a farmworkers union basked in Skagit County.
University of Washington Medicine said it would furlough 1,500 employees as it faces a $500 million budget shortfall.
