What Tri-Cities agreed to do to reopen —from inspections to enforcement

Tri-City residents may be hearing less from local police agencies about their plan to educate people rather than ticket them for not wearing masks to protect against the coronavirus.

The “Roadmap to Recovery” worked out between local officials and the the Washington state Department of Health to allow the Tri-Cities area to move to Phase 1.5 of business reopening, requires multiple steps by agencies from law enforcement to public health.

The plan was approved just before the start of the three-day holiday weekend by the Benton Franklin Health District Board, made up of local county commissioners, and then individually by the Benton and Franklin county commissions.

All but Franklin County Commissioner Clint Didier approved the roadmap, with some of the other commissioners saying the Tri-Cities needed to take the steps required to allow the Tri-Cities to start to reopen immediately and then to advance to Phase 2 of business reopening.

Business reopening started Friday in the Tri-Cities, with strict limits.

Only outdoor dining at restaurants is allowed, hair salons are limited to 25% of building capacity and non-essential retail stores are limited to 15% indoor capacity. No social gatherings with nonhousehold members are allowed.

Police requirements

The Roadmap to Recovery does not appear to require police to enforce wearing masks in businesses. The requirement is listed in the roadmap, but followed by two question marks.

However, Kennewick police Chief Ken Hohenberg said at a news conference Wednesday with multiple city and county officials represented that businesses could call police if they have a customer not wearing a required face covering who refuses to leave.

On Monday, a Benton and Franklin county health officer order takes effect that makes not wearing a cloth face covering a misdemeanor, unless a person is exempt. Exemptions range from a health condition or disability that makes wearing a map unsafe to being younger than 5 years old.

On Tuesday a statewide order takes effect requiring masks in businesses. It will be enforced through fines on businesses by the Washington state Department of Labor and Industries.

While it does not appear that Tri-Cities law enforcement agencies will be enforcing the orders, law enforcement agencies must “decrease communications about not enforcing proclamations,” the Roadmap to Recovery said.

Police also are encouraged to “educate” people in large group gatherings, the roadmap said.

Business requirements

All businesses that are open are required to sign a pledge developed by the Tri-Cities Open and Safe Coalition — which includes local health and business organizations — saying they will follow all COVID-19 guidance from the Benton Franklin Health District.

They also must submit their reopening plan to Benton or Franklin county officials. The Benton Franklin Health District will review plans and make suggestions, if requested, but no approval of the plans is required for businesses to reopen.

The Benton Franklin Health District, with county and city assistance, also has additional requirements under the roadmap.

Officials at the Franklin County Commission meeting Thursday night said the state will be providing $2.3 million to help the health district.

Public health requirements

The health district will be required to have about 45 people assigned to contact people who have tested positive for COVID-19 and then track down and contact people who they may have infected.

Incentives will be used to keep people who have tested positive in isolation until they are no longer contagious and to quarantine their close contacts for two weeks, the time in which they could develop COVID-19.

The roadmap does not describe what those incentives would be.

However, concerns have been raised about low-income workers who do not have sick leave benefits that cover quarantines and self-isolation.

More drive-thru test sites must be established, the roadmap said.

In June the Washington National Guard established drive thru test sites at the Toyota Center in Kennewick and The HAPO Center, formerly TRAC, in Pasco. Call 211 during business hours for an appointment.

Mobile testing equipment that can be set up in other areas of the two counties is expected to be in use soon, possibly within days.

Testing sites will distribute cloth masks and educational materials.

Mask surveys

Efforts to communicate the importance of wearing cloth face coverings and other protective measures, such as frequent hand washing and avoiding large gatherings, also must be stepped up, the roadmap said.

Surveys to determine the percentage of people in public places wearing cloth face coverings must be completed weekly.

The local health district did an initial survey June 20-25 that found 53% of people leaving grocery stores had masks.

That was followed by a second survey done by volunteers that found 90% compliance, said Benton County Commissioner Jerome Delvin at a Thursday afternoon internet press conference Gov. Jay Inslee. Complete details have yet to be released.

Health district food inspectors will be required to check for measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus when routine restaurant inspections resume. That would be in addition to the usual focus of the inspections — looking for practices such as improper hot or cold food holding or inadequate hand washing that could put diners at risk of a food-borne illness.

The focus on preventing outbreaks among vulnerable residents of long-term care facilities will continue.

Staff at the homes must be tested for COVID-19 each week, the roadmap said.

Agriculture workers

There also must be a continued focus on preventing outbreaks among agriculture workers by following state Department of Health guidance.

Agriculture businesses must be visited when a case is identified to determine if it is part of an outbreak of two or more cases.

All employees must be tested within the building or site experiencing an outbreak.

If a single member of an agriculture housing unit tests positive, everyone in the housing unit must be tested.

Agencies were required to begin to implementing the requirements of the Roadmap to Recovery over the last week.

The roadmap said if that work began, the state Department of Health would make an exception for Benton and Franklin counties to start a limited reopening.

It said that a Phase 1.5 reopening could be allowed despite high levels of COVID-19 infection because of the negative economic impacts of continuing to keep all non-essential businesses closed or strictly limiting their operations since late March.

State officials also have said they are concerned that people in Benton and Franklin counties have been traveling to other counties where haircuts, wine tastings and indoor restaurant dining was allowed. Visitors could potentially spread the coronavirus in counties with low rates of infection.