A new report released by the Washington State Department of Health shows no regions will be ready for the next phase of reopening in Washington state by Jan. 11. All eight regions in the state’s new COVID-19 recovery plan will remain in the first phase until at least Jan. 18.
Earlier this week, Gov. Jay Inslee announced a new reopening plan called "Healthy Washington," which goes by region, instead of the 39 Washington counties. The Puget Sound region covers King, Pierce and Snohomish counties.
To move on to Phase 2, a region must meet the following four targets:
- 10% decreasing trend in case rates
- 10% decrease in coronavirus hospital admission rates
- ICU occupancy that’s less than 90%
- Test positivity rate that’s less than 10%
But this report says, under current conditions, none of the regions will be ready for Phase 2 by Jan. 11.
The next phase allows some indoor dining to resume and for gyms to reopen at 25% capacity.
