The state will shift to a two-phase system in accordance with regional case counts.
This story is originally from Medium.com and you can view the full article here: https://medium.com/wagovernor/inslee-announces-healthy-washington-roadmap-to-recovery-229b880a6859
Gov. Jay Inslee today announced “Healthy Washington — Roadmap to Recovery,” a COVID-19 phased recovery plan. Beginning on January 11, the state will follow a regional recovery approach with every region beginning in Phase 1.
“No one was untouched by the effects of the pandemic in 2020; many have and continue to suffer through no fault of their own,” Inslee said during a press conference Tuesday. “We aren’t out of this yet, but we are close to turning the corner on COVID-19 and this third wave of infection.”
Washington has avoided overwhelming the state’s health care systems throughout this pandemic so far through rigorous safety measures, such as physical distancing and masking, as well as social and economic restrictions. This new recovery system aims to safely ease some restrictions while also maintaining crucial hospital capacity, ensuring care for Washingtonians that need it and paving the way for economic recovery.
Regions
The regions are mostly based on Emergency Medical Services (EMS) regions used for evaluating healthcare services. There will be eight regions of four or more counties, divided according to available health care services based on metrics such as hospitalizations, case data and disease mobility.
The eight regions are as follows:
Central: King, Pierce, Snohomish
East: Adams, Asotin, Ferry, Garfield, Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Spokane, Stevens, Whitman
North: Island, San Juan, Skagit, Whatcom
North Central: Chelan, Douglas, Grant, Okanogan
Northwest: Clallam, Jefferson, Kitsap, Mason
South Central: Benton, Columbia, Franklin, Kittitas, Walla Walla, Yakima
Southwest: Clark, Cowlitz, Klickitat, Skamania, Wahkiakum
West: Grays Harbor, Lewis, Pacific, Thurston