Recreational facilities, libraries, museums and movie theaters can resume operations — with restrictions of course — now that the state has approved Grays Harbor County’s Phase 3 variance.
Word came down late Wednesday that state Secretary of Health Dr. John Wiesman had accepted the variance, five days after the county applied for it. The county had been in Phase 2 of Gov. Jay Inslee’s Safe Start approach to reopening Washington the required three weeks before applying for the variance.
“I am thankful to see our county move to Phase 3,” said Grays Harbor County Commissioner Vickie Raines. “At the same time, I want people to keep in mind that we still have a ways to go. Similarly to Phase 2, I hope people will approach Phase 3 cautiously and safely. While restrictions are being reduced, we must continue to stay calm, be smart and do all we can to keep ourselves healthy.”
23 cases
The county now lists 23 positive cases of COVID-19 after Grays Harbor County Public Health reported two more on Thursday.
County Public Health and the county emergency operations center released a statement Wednesday, stressing, “As the county continues to progress in reopening phases, citizens in the community need to be mindful that COVID-19 is still present and that exposure may still occur.”
The statement continued, “In order to remain a safe and healthy community, Grays Harbor Public Health and Grays Harbor County Emergency Management want to remind citizens that it is still important to maintain social distancing, wash your hands and wear face coverings whenever possible in public. Staying home as much as possible and limiting the number of people you come in contact with will help keep everyone healthy.”
No additional information about the two latest positive tests was provided, with Public Health again citing federal patient confidentiality laws, which they say apply during a pandemic. The county had two cases in March, 10 in April, five in May and six so far this month.
“I am pleased to be able to move Grays Harbor County to Phase 3 of Gov. Inslee’s Safe Start progression of getting back to a more normal lifestyle. I know there is a great weariness of citizens in dealing with the response to COVID-19; it takes a physical, mental and economic toll on all of us,” said Commissioner Randy Ross.
Concern for a surge
“My greatest concern is that we could very likely see a surge of the virus during the upcoming fall and winter seasons,” said Raines. “Now is not the time to simply believe we are out of the woods, we must remain diligent — continue to practice physical distancing, hand washing, and wearing of a face covering when in public, common areas.”
Ross continued, “My fear is when we may see a second wave of COVID cases larger than the first; a predictable surge of disease which may overtax the capacity of our medical system, care providers and hospitals. The concern being: Are we ready? Are we able to respond from a medical perspective? Do we have the required personnel to track and trace the disease, and can our citizens step up to a personal level of response that respects one citizen’s opinion even though they may disagree with their neighbor?”
Phase 3 allows:
• Gatherings and outdoor group recreational activities of up to 50 people
• Gyms and public pools to open at 50% or less capacity
• Resumption of non-essential travel
• Restaurants/taverns to operate at 75% capacity with table sizes no larger than 10
• Bars to reopen to 25% capacity
• Movie theaters to reopen to 50% capacity
• Libraries, museums and all other business activities not yet listed with the exception of nightclubs and events with greater than 50 people to reopen
• Customer-facing government services
The county was allowed to participate in Phase 3 activities immediately after Wednesday’s announcement. However, as county Public Health officials stated, “An individual Phase 3 business sector — such as movie theaters, libraries and museums — may reopen only after the state publishes its guidelines for the specific sector. An individual business is only allowed to reopen after it can implement those guidelines.”
This is the same process that had to be followed after the county was granted a Phase 2 variance in late May; businesses must provide what the state deems to be appropriate safety measures to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 before the are allowed to open their doors.
“Phase 3 is a progression,” said Ross. “We hopefully will stay here for a brief time and move into a Phase 4 at some point, but until there is an actual vaccine or cure for this coronavirus, we need to stay vigilant in our efforts.”
Ross said most rural counties have had minimal outbreaks and have had sufficient local medical capacity. But he added that avoiding large gatherings, maintaining good sanitation practices and social distancing, and respecting citizens who may be more susceptible to the disease remain important as the county approaches Phase 4, which Grays Harbor County can apply for July 8.
“The way to win this battle is for each and every one of us to take this disease seriously, respect the damage it has done and can still do to us, and all states, counties and cities keep learning more about how to properly respond to lessen the effect and lower the impact of COVID-19,” said Ross. “Isolation and quarantine are effective measures to reduce the spread, but so is hand washing and wearing masks in public. If I were to make a prediction, is there will most likely be a Phase 3.5 before there is a full Phase 4.”
Libraries
As far as the county’s Timberland Regional Libraries, “We are working on our reopening plan and the first phase will be a holds pick-up service called ‘Library Takeout,’” said Timberland spokeswoman Michelle Larson. “For any next steps, we are waiting for all five of our counties to be in Phase 3 and for the governor to issue guidance documents on phases for reopening libraries.”
Timberland Regional Library expected to have specific dates for its Library Takeout service late Friday. Thursday, the Hoquiam Library posted on its Facebook page they hope to have curbside service next week. For updates go to https://www.trl.org/, or https://www.facebook.com/HoquiamTimberlandLibrary/.
Fishing
Fishing charters are also allowed under Phase 3 to expand their operations. “Phase 3 is back to almost normal loads for everyone,” said Derek Gochanour, captain of the Westport charter boat Predator. “We are still following all safety precautions.”
Salmon season started June 20, and many boats have been regularly limiting on rockfish and lingcod since the season reopened. Each boat can have its own safety requirements in place. It’s important to check with each captain ahead of time to see what you’ll need to do on your trip.
YMCA
YMCA of Grays Harbor opened its fitness center Thursday and group exercise classes without reservations. Group exercise classes will be open to more than five participants, and classes will still be available on Zoom. Starting Monday, the Y will operate according to Phase 3 guidelines with a phased approached. A detailed graphic of what that approach is can be found on its Facebook page.
The Coming Attractions movie theater at Shoppes at Riverside remains closed, but the theater chain opened locations in Oregon on June 12, and its two theaters in Alaska in late May. The company developed “location-specific COVID-19” plans for those theaters prior to reopening.
The most timely way to get information about a specific business opening is to follow that business on Facebook or on their websites. For news on the Riverside Cinema, go to the Coming Attractions COVID-19 page.
“I am very grateful of the time, efforts and work done by our Incident Management Team and COVID Policy Group to move us to Phase 3,” said Raines. “I continue to have serious concerns about our local economy; yet, moving to Phase 3 will certainly assist us in beginning to restore our economy, which I believe, has a long road of recovery ahead.”
Grays Harbor County Public Health continues to operate its COVID-19 call center to assist people with testing referrals. Assistance is available in both English and Spanish at 360-964-1850, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m.-noon and 12:30 p.m.-4 p.m.
For information about COVID-19 and the county’s response, visit http://www.healthyGH.org, or the Public Health Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/healthyghc.
