Tri-Cities area may know as soon as late Friday if counties can move to Phase 2

Benton and Franklin counties could know as soon as late Friday whether they will be allowed by the Washington state Department of Health to reopen more businesses and allow small gatherings.

The Benton Franklin Health District Board, made up of the six county commissioners for the two counties, voted unanimously to accept the application prepared by health district staff for moving to Phase 2 of reopening.

Less than an hour later the Benton County Commission voted to submit its county’s application to the state. The Franklin County Commission voted 2-1 Wednesday morning to submit a nearly identical application to the state.

At the health board meeting, the commissioners said that could mean an answer from the state by late Friday at the earliest or possibly by early the next week, depending on how many applications the state receives at once.

The two counties are among just five of 39 in the state still on Phase 1 of Gov. Jay Inslee’s Safe Start plan for reopening after closures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

King County has been approved for a modified Phase 1, or Phase 1.5, and the remaining 33 counties in the state are already in Phase 2 or 3.

Phase 2 allows counties to resume more construction, open more stores, open hair salons and allow dine-in eating at 50% capacity in restaurants and bars. Gatherings of up to five non-family members are allowed.

If the state instead approves either or both of the Tri-Cities area counties for modified Phase 1, it would allow a small number of shoppers in more stores, outdoor dining at restaurants and hair salons to open at 25% of building capacity. More construction also could be approved.

Under the Safe Start plan that began June 1, counties can be approved to move to Phase 2 even if they don’t meet targets but can convince the state they can safely reopen.

“This wasn’t something that was an option three weeks ago,” said Benton County Commissioner Shon Small. “We’ve been doing everything that we can.”

Benton County Commissioner Jim Beaver said the county has been looking at all options to reopen.

The Benton County application, which will be emailed and also mailed Tuesday, could be in state officials’ hands the same day.

Some applications have been approved in as little as 72 hours, and counties usually have an answer within five days, commissioners said.

COVID cases high

For the Tri-Cities area counties, the main issue may be the number of residents who continue to be diagnosed with COVID-19.

The targets, based on population, limit new confirmed cases to no more than 50 over two weeks in Benton County and no more than 24 in Franklin County.

On the numbers reported Monday for cases in the previous 24 hours, the two counties hit a record high of 83 confirmed cases for a single day.

The most recent numbers, reported on Wednesday, were less than half of that, but would still exceed the target if they continue at the same level over two weeks.

There were 20 cases reported in Benton County and 23 cases reported in Franklin County on Wednesday by the Benton Franklin Health District.

Starting Monday June 8, masks have been required in public places in the two counties if people may be less than six feet from non-household members.

It is one step expected to be used to help convince state officials that the Tri-Cities area can better control the spread of the coronavirus.

The requirement comes as a health officer directive, which is an order, but will not be enforced, according to local officials.

There are exceptions to the order including children and people with certain health issues. More information on requirements is posted at bit.ly/MaskDirective.

Why Phase 2?

Despite the high case count, the counties can make a logical case for moving to Phase 2, said Dr. Amy Person, the health officer for the two counties, as discussions began last week when eased requirements for applying for reopening were released.

The decision on whether to reopen more businesses needs to consider not only the least damage in terms of the spread of the infection, but also the social, emotional and economic impacts on residents and the well being of the community as a whole, she said.

“I think we are seeing more people in despair and that is hindering their ability to change and to do the things we need to do to reduce the spread of COVID-19,” she said. “If we can give them hope and a safe path forward I think they can be more successful in making those necessary changes.”

The county now is seeing individual behaviors that increase the likelihood of the spread of infection, including people working while they are sick, gathering in large groups and not wearing face coverings when they are near non-household members, she said.

Opening more businesses may not significantly impact the infection rates in the Tri-Cities area, she said.

Benton and Franklin counties either meet or are close to meeting targets that show that hospitals could handle an increase on COVID-19 cases.

Although the two counties are not close to meeting targets related to testing for infection with the coronavirus, neither have many of the counties already approved for reopening.

The Benton Franklin Health District also needs to work on reaching more newly diagnosed people by phone within 24 hours of being notified of a positive test result. Most people voluntarily answer questions about who they may have been in close contact with while infectious so those people can be notified.

“While we hope that 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, and we will need our community’s help to keep us on track to a safe and healthy recovery,“ Benton County said in a statement after commissioners approved the application.

This story was originally published June 9, 2020 at 3:34 PM.