Phase 2: Grant County allowed to reopen a little

MOSES LAKE — Washington Department of Health on Saturday moved Grant County into Phase 2 of the state’s plan to reopen businesses and remove restrictions imposed to combat the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

Phase 2, said Grant County Commissioner Cindy Carter, means county officials have plans for the county to handle a renewed outbreak of the virus, if one occurs. Before businesses can reopen, they must meet requirements established by state officials. The guidelines are laid out on the governor’s website, www.governor.wa.gov.

Phase 2 allows some retail businesses that had been designated as non-essential by state officials to reopen, and allows restaurants to resume some inside seating at reduced capacity. Some service businesses, such as hairdressers and barbers, also can reopen.

Leading up to the state’s announcement Saturday allowing Grant County to move to Phase 2 early, county commissioners had sent multiple letters to Gov. Jay Inslee, urging him to allow counties to ease the restrictions. State officials announced on Thursday that Grant County was eligible to apply for a waiver to move to Phase 2, and county officials submitted the application Friday.

“We’ve been working hard on this. It’s a baby step, but it’s a step,” Carter said. “I am so excited.”

Phase 2 means that health district officials must be able to show they can react within 24 hours when a new coronavirus case is reported, Grant County Health District administrator Theresa Adkinson said Friday. Counties must show they have adequate hospital capacity to accommodate an increase in cases, and they must have adequate supplies of protective equipment for health care workers.

County officials can also impose extra regulations as part of the reopening process.

Grant County health officer Alexander Brzezny said Friday that he will issue an order requiring people to wear masks in public places or in situations where people can’t maintain a six-foot distance. Adkinson said enforcement will be the health district’s responsibility. A business that doesn’t comply with state and local requirements could face sanctions on its business license, Adkinson said.

Brzezny said no one is going to be arrested over it, but people need to know the importance of wearing masks when indoors. Masks will become more important as businesses start to reopen and people start moving around, Adkinson said.

For Grant County, the threshold to remain in Phase 2 is a maximum of 10 new cases in any 14-day period. If the county exceeds that threshold, Phase 1 restrictions could be reimposed, Adkinson said, which would mean closing businesses that had reopened.

After the state granted the county Phase 2 permission, most businesses on Moses Lake’s Third Avenue were still closed — being the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend — including many that were allowed to do business in Phase 1.

Permission to start Phase 2 was good news for Sue Torrence, owner of Sue’s Gift Boutique in Moses Lake, who said she was looking forward to reopening. For weeks there’s been a lot of discussion about a “new normal,” Torrence said Saturday.

She’s optimistic. “Our new normal will be good,” she said.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at education@columbiabasinherald.com.