Washington state puts final reopening phase on hold
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced Saturday the state would be pausing counties from moving into Phase 4 of the state's reopening plan. Eight counties were eligible to move from Phase 3 to Phase 4 before the pause.
Inslee pointed to rising cases across the state and concerns about the continued spread of COVID-19.
Phase 4 guidelines would essentially mean restrictions would be eliminated entirely, which Inslee said is impossible at this time.
"Phase 4 would mean a return to normal activity and we can’t do that now due to the continued rise in cases across the state," Inslee said.
"We all want to get back to doing all the things we love in Washington during the summer, and fully open our economy, but we aren’t there yet. This is an evolving situation and we will continue to make decisions based on the data."
Clark County applied to move into Phase 3 Friday evening. The county remains in Phase 2 at this time.
Health officials in Clark County, Washington, reported 17 new coronavirus cases Friday. That brings the county’s total to 758. Public health officials did not report any additional deaths, with the total holding at 29.
The Washington Department of Health reported 30,855 confirmed coronavirus cases in the state and 1,300 known deaths. As of Friday the coronavirus has led to the hospitalization of 4,194 people in Washington.
New Oregon modeling suggests case transmission increase
New modeling released by the Oregon Health Authority Friday suggests coronavirus transmission has increased since some counties began reopening May 15.
The report, put together by the Institute for Disease Modeling in conjunction with OHA, is based on data through June 18. It estimates that daily coronavirus case levels in the state could rise as much as 20% in a worse case scenario. That translates to 4,850 more new infections per day and 74 more new hospitalizations per day by July 16.
The report states best, moderate and worst-case scenarios in the report are all uncertain predictions.
“This latest model provides us with a sobering reminder that we all need to guard against continued spread, especially as we continue to reopen and the weather gets warmer,” Dean Sidelinger, state epidemiologist, said Friday in a call with media members.
Along with a recent rise in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations have also increased, OHA said. Hospitalization data in the state was consistent with a 15% increase in coronavirus transmission after May 15, the report states, and an additional 10% increase after May 22 – the Friday before Memorial Day.
Sidelinger urges Oregonians to avoid large gatherings, especially as the 4th of July holiday approaches.
“Think hard about getting together with people outside of your household. In Oregon, cases accelerated after Memorial Day. We don’t want the same thing to happen after the coming Independence Day holiday,” Sidelinger said.
Sidelinger said people should still be staying six feet apart from others.
“Limit the number of people at the barbecue or picnic, make sure people can stay far enough apart and interact outside as much as possible,” he said.
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