Tri-Cities must do this to reopen under state’s newly eased targets

Newly eased Washington state requirements put Benton and Franklin counties closer to being able to open up more businesses.

Reopening requirements are being replaced by less stringent “targets” and counties will be allowed more flexibility to show they can generally meet targets as a whole under a new plan announced by Gov. Jay Inslee on Friday afternoon.

“There is no magic number,” said John Wiesman, state secretary of health. “That is why ... we are going to look at all of these measures together.”

But both Tri-Cities counties are currently not yet close to meeting some of the key new targets announced Friday to move from Phase 1 to Phase 2 of the “Safe Start” program.

Both counties will need to significantly reduce their number of new cases to come close to meeting even the less rigorous targets set by the governor starting June 1.

Benton County cases are three times the lower target number. Franklin County is nearly 5 times.

Reopening new businesses, and being allowed to keep them open, will require diligence on the part of residents, including wearing masks at work and in public and continued social distancing, said state and local health officials.

“If Benton County is approved to move to Phase 2, avoiding a spike in cases is of paramount importance in order to avoid being pushed back into Phase 1,” according to a statement from Benton County. “We will need our community’s help to keep us on the right track to a safe, healthy recovery.”

On Tuesday both Benton and Franklin county commissions plan to discuss applying to the state to reopen more businesses.

Eased requirements

The governor’s “Stay Home Stay Healthy” order expires on Sunday, the last day of May, and will be replaced with new eased targets to reopen businesses in phases.

Counties in the state, including its largest counties, had told Inslee that initial requirements for reopening some businesses could not be met.

The revised Safe Start plan will allow counties like Benton and Franklin that have not been approved for the second phase to apply either to move to Phase 2 or for a more limited reopening of businesses under a modified Phase 1.

Benton and Franklin counties are currently in Phase 1, which allows businesses rated essential by the state to be open, curbside pickup at other retail stores and restaurants and for some some construction projects.

Phase 2 allows in-store retail purchases, restaurants to reopen with 50 percent capacity and table sizes no larger than 5, and the restart of new construction, real estate, hair and nail salons, and barbers.

Under the Modified Phase 1 status, restaurants could offer limited outdoor but not indoor dining, retail stores could allow a very limited number of customers inside, and hair salons and real estate offices could open at reduced capacity. Construction could resume at the same level as allowed in Phase 2.

Benton County commissioners are expected to consider applying for Phase 2, according to a Friday afternoon press release.

“I have been in contact with each board member individually over the past few weeks, and they believe it is essential that Benton County move into Phase 2 so we can start the path to economic recovery for our struggling local businesses and community members,” said County Administrator Jerrod MacPherson.

“We can no longer sit and wait,” he said. “It’s time for us to be able to move forward.”

If Benton County does apply for Phase 2 approval, the Washington state secretary of health would have discretion to grant partial approval, allowing it to resume certain Phase 2 activities rather than all of them.

Tri-Cities case levels

Franklin County is more likely to consider applying for Modified Phase 1 approval, said Keith Johnson, Franklin County administrator.

Approval would allow more construction to resume, helping meet the pent up demand for new housing, he said.

Under the eased targets for Phase 2, Benton and Franklin counties would be allowed to have more reported COVID-19 cases over a two week period than the requirements that expire May 31.

Benton County could have about 50 new cases over a two-week period, up from the old requirement of just 20 cases.

In the past two weeks, the county had 150 confirmed cases — three times the target number.

Franklin County would need no more than 25 cases, up from the old requirement of just nine cases in two weeks.

The county had 124 cases in the past two weeks — nearly five times the target.

“Clearly the number of cases has been the bane of our ability to move forward,” Johnson said.

Friday was a particularly bad day for Tri-Cities area case numbers with the Benton Franklin County Health District announcing 44 new cases of COVID-19 over the previous 24 hours.

They included 18 confirmed by testing in Benton County and 24 confirmed by testing in Franklin County.

Mother’s Day spike?

Public health officials suspect that a lack of social distancing on Mother’s Day weekend was to blame.

Most of the new cases reported on Friday were people who began having symptoms of COVID-19 on May 13-15, said Annie Goodwin, spokeswoman for the local health district.

That would have put their exposure to the new coronavirus several days earlier on Mother’s Day weekend, she said.

It was the largest number of cases reported in a day since the results of the Tyson Fresh Meats worker testing in response to a COVID-19 outbreak at the beef processing plant south of Pasco were reported over the first three days of May.

That resulted in 47 new cases reported for May 1 and 48 cases for May 3, according to updated information on the district’s website.

Over the past week, 29 new cases were reported on Tuesday, 22 on Wednesday and 14 on Thursday. Over the three-day Memorial Day weekend, new cases averaged 24 a day.

COVID-19 outbreaks, testing

Franklin County also has the issue of an outbreak at the Coyote Ridge Correction Center north of Pasco.

The targets for moving to Phase 2 require no more than one outbreak for a county the size of Franklin County.

Nearly 20 prisoners at the Connell facility have tested positive for COVID-19 in recent weeks.

The local health district has also been reporting outbreaks in residents and staff of long-term care homes for seniors, which appear to be declining, and an outbreak among healthcare workers caring for COVID-19 patients.

The outbreak linked to Tyson Fresh Meats is considered to be over after no new cases have been reported in workers there for more than 14 days.

The other target that Benton and Franklin counties are unable to meet is having adequate testing for the new coronavirus available for residents.

About 370 residents in Benton County would need to be tested each day, up from about 58 on average now.

About 240 Franklin County residents would need to be tested each day, up from an average of about 25 a day now.

Although testing is more available in the Tri-Cities area than earlier in the outbreak, some clinics still can’t get the testing supplies needed to offer as many tests as healthcare providers would like, according to public health officials.

Businesses react

Cole Willis, the general manager of Columbia Basin Racquet Club in Richland said he was pleased that the revised state guidelines have additional flexibility based on each county’s situation.

It has been working on a safe re-opening plan for 11 weeks and believes it can do so responsibly, he said.

Under modified Phase 1 approval, outdoor fitness activities are allowed for up to five people, not including the instructor.

Willis says there is some indoor recreation that can occur in Phase 2 and he encourages Benton County and its public health officials to file a Phase 2 application.

“Many of the lifestyle illnesses that are so dangerous to those infected with COVID-19 — diabetes, heart disease, obesity — can be controlled through diet and exercise,” he said.

Steve Simmons, chief financial officer of CG Public House in Kennewick, says the outdoor restaurant seating that would be allowed under a modified Phase 1 would be a help.

But even under Phase 2 with indoor seating at 50% capacity “that is a long way from what we need to return to profitability.”

With no in-house dining allowed now, customers he hardly knows have bought hundreds of dollars in gift cards to help keep the restaurant in business, he said.

He believes the governor’s restrictions on business is government overreach.

“I agree that every life is precious, but we’ve never gone to these lengths before,” he said.

Doctor: Masks work

Benton and Franklin counties are among 13 in the state still in Phase 1, as 26 other counties have moved on to reopen more businesses under Phase 2.

One of the counties furthest from being able to meet new targets is Yakima, with possibly the highest infection rate in the western states, the governor said.

It has outbreaks in nursing homes and in processing plants and there are concerns about agriculture workers, Inslee said.

We are only going to be able to stop this from getting into the broader neighborhoods of Yakima if we all get behind this wagon and push,” he said. “ If we don’t wear face masks, if we don’t socially distance, if we still shrug this off as a plot, not a real threat to our families, we’re in a really dangerous position.”

The governor has heard estimates that only 30% of people there are wearing masks in grocery stores, he said.

As more businesses open and people spend less time at home, masks will be an important protection to help prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, said Dr. John Lynch, an infectious disease specialist at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

The governor is ordering businesses to provide and require workers to wear facial coverings during “in-person interactions” with customers and other employees starting June 8.

Much has been learned about the new coronavirus in the recent weeks and months, and the medical community now knows that people infected with the virus may have no symptoms but may be spreading the virus, Lynch said.

“Putting a mask on people all the time, regardless of symptoms, helps interrupt that chain,” he said.

The virus spreads through bits of water released into the air anytime a person talks, sings, sneezes or coughs, which is the main way the infection is believed to be spread.

A snug mask that covers the mouth and nose captures those droplets before they become airborne and it also helps prevent people from touching their nose and mouth and helps prevent infection, he said.

“If we are wearing (a mask) it is sending a message to those around us that we are taking this seriously and want to do something for our citizens, our family, our co-workers,” he said.

The Benton Franklin Health District recommends masks when people cannot maintain six feet of distance from non-household members, but wearing masks is not mandated beyond the new June 8 worker requirements in the two counties.

“We believe that each of our citizens all have the responsibility to protect ourselves and to protect each other,” said Rick Dawson, senior manager at the local health district. “We think each and every one of us are responsible and responsible enough to do it on our own.”

This story was originally published May 30, 2020 at 2:20 PM.