2 WA regions move to Phase 2. Tri-Cities area isn’t one of them

The Tri-Cities area is not in one of the two regions of Washington state that will move forward to Phase 2 of reopening Feb. 1.

And the next change in phases will not happen until Feb. 15.

Gov. Jay Inslee announced Thursday that announcements on reopenings will be every other Monday rather than every week.

However, he has made it easier to advance to Phase 2. Previously regions had to meet four requirements to allow more easing of restrictions. Starting now, they only have to meet three of the four.

Inslee said he has reduced requirements to allow more reopening as he watched a significant drop in new cases and as more people are being vaccinated against COVID-19.

He said he also empathizes with struggling businesses.

The areas of the state that have met three of the requirements and will move forward are the Puget Sound Region — King, Pierce and Snohomish counties — and the West Region — Grays Harbor, Thurston, Lewis and Pacific counties.

“As we continue our community efforts, we hope more such progress will be made,” said Dr. Umair Shah, Washington state secretary of health. “Ultimately our goal remains ensuring the health and safety of all of Washington.”

The Healthy Washington Roadmap to Recovery plan launched Jan. 11 with a focus on reducing the rate of new COVID cases.

All eight regions of the state were rolled back to a revised Phase 1 under the new reopening plan. Most indoor restaurant and bar service, small indoor gatherings and indoor fitness center use at 25% capacity will not be allowed until Phase 2.

On Thursday, the South Central Region, which includes the Tri-Cities, had met two of the four reopening metrics, both of them related to hospital use.

It is an improvement from last week, when it was meeting just one of the reopening requirements.

The South Central Region includes Benton, Franklin, Yakima, Walla Walla, Kittitas and Columbia counties.

Tri-Cities region scores

Here’s how the region stood as of Jan. 28:

▪ The region had a 29% decrease in hospital admissions for COVID-19 for the two weeks of Jan. 10-23, compared to the previous two weeks

That meets the state requirement of a 10% decrease, and was the largest decrease of any region in the state.

Last week hospital admissions had decreased 36%.

▪ Some 87% of hospital intensive care unit beds were in use by patients of all types on average for each day from Jan. 17-23.

That meets the requirement of less than 90% ICU occupancy. Last week the region had 90% ICU occupancy.

All eight regions in the state met the requirement this week, with the South Central region having the highest percent of ICU occupancy.

▪ The six counties combined had a 1% decrease in new cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 people for the two weeks of Jan. 3-16, compared to the previous two weeks.

That does not meet the state requirement of a 10% reduction. Last week it had a 9% increase.

This week it was one of only two regions in the state to have a decreasing case rate trend.

Neither of the two regions that advance to Phase 2 had a decreasing case rate.

▪ The region had 22% of COVID-19 tests return positive for the week of Jan. 3-9, the most recent period for which testing data is complete.

It was the highest rate of positive test results of any region in the state, but is down locally 1% from last week.

The state requirement is fewer than 10% positive tests for the coronavirus.

The state will announce whether any more regions move to Phase 2 and whether the regions newly moved to Phase 2 maintain adequate progress to stay there on Feb. 12.

Regions in Phase 2 must continue to meet three of the metrics or they will revert to Phase 1.

This story was originally published January 28, 2021 at 4:40 PM.