Grays Harbor County Commissioners were briefed Tuesday about the county’s eligibility to apply for a variance under Gov. Jay Inslee’s phased plan to re-open Washington.
The requirements presented to apply for the variance, which would allow the county to move into phase 2 of the governor’s plan and open up more businesses, will make it difficult for most counties to qualify.
“I’m frustrated after hearing about the carrot to possibly open the county early and seeing the stick it’s attached to of the requirements he is putting the county through,” said District 2 Grays Harbor County Commissioner Randy Ross. “It makes it almost impossible to comply with the variance request.”
Phase 2 includes recreation and spiritual and social gatherings in groups of five people or fewer, and the resumption of in-store retail purchases, hair and nail salons, pet grooming, and restaurants operating at less than 50% capacity with table size no larger than five.
Ross thinks retail businesses in the county should be allowed to continue operations, as the larger concern would be opening mass gathering sites that would draw people from outside the county into the area.
“I really think there is no reason all retail shouldn’t be open with the same procedures in place to ensure proper sanitation, social distancing, requirements to wear masks when they go into stores,” said Ross. “All retailers should not be treated differently from Walmart or Safeway or hardware stores.”
Other businesses that have their own already-established customer bases should also be allowed to get back to work, said Ross.
“Personal care providers, like dentists and optometrists, barbers and nail salons, and massage therapists who have their own local customer base (should be allowed to open),” said Ross, with sanitation standards and safety precautions in place.
“With the amount of cases we’ve had down here it seems to me like they could handle most of the local residents,” said Ross, as long as the businesses comply and customers follow the safety protocols established.
The idea is to provide local businesses the opportunity to serve their core local customer bases, said Ross, while continuing restrictions on potential large work groups that may not have the proper personal protection gear or be able to practice social distancing.
“What we can’t handle is a large influx of crowds from outside the area,” said Ross, “which has created a whole different economic situation with tourism.”
Ross said a Congressional stimulus package would be appropriate to help communities such as Westport and Ocean Shores deal with a major hit to their economy as beaches and fishing are shut down to protect their own vulnerable residents from the spread of COVID-19.
“We need Congress to develop a stimulus package designed for tourist economies. We’re not unique in that respect,” said Ross. “There are a whole lot of businesses that depend on tourism dollars to survive. In Westport and Ocean Shores, there is only a four- to five-month window to survive the whole year, and they’re going to miss that whole season.”
Hotels, motels, restaurants, and all the ancillary businesses that rely on that money are at the greatest risk of survival without some sort of assistance in the face of the governor’s and local jurisdictions’ orders to remain shuttered.
“There should be a package that allows those businesses to at least make their basic monthly nut, that allow them to keep their doors available to open later on,” said Ross. “And I think that would have to last at least certainly through the first quarter of 2021 and maybe into the second, until a vaccine can be developed and other measures are put into place.”
Public Health’s presentation
According to a statement from Grays Harbor Public Health COVID-19 response public information officer Brianne Probasco, since Grays Harbor County has not had any new cases identified in the last three weeks, the county is eligible to apply for a variance under Governor Inslee’s phased plan to re-open Washington. A variance would allow Grays Harbor County to move to phase 2 of the Governor’s plan.
“The Incident Management Team is working to identify and address any gaps in our County’s capacity and capability to respond. Our goal is to provide the community with the best plan to move forward,” said Leonard Johnson, Incident Commander. “(Tuesday) we briefed Commissioners on the variance application process and provided them a snapshot of where our County is in terms of being able to apply for this variance.”
There are four steps to requesting a variance that would allow the county to move from phase 1 to phase 2, presented to county commissioners Tuesday:
1. Grays Harbor County Health Officer, Dr. John Bausher, submits a signed recommendation and variance plan to the Grays Harbor County Board of Health, which is made up of the three county commissioners. The variance plan must demonstrate that the County has the capacity and supplies to test anyone with COVID-19 symptoms, quickly perform case investigations and contact tracing, provide isolation and quarantine facilities and support to people who do not have a home or are unable to isolate or quarantine in their home, and plans and resources to rapidly respond to outbreaks in the community and within congregate settings.
2. The Grays Harbor County Board of Health votes on the variance plan. A majority vote is required to move forward.
3. Grays Harbor County hospitals certify, by letter, that they have adequate capacity and supplies to serve their community.
4. The Grays Harbor County Board of County Commissioners votes on the variance plan.
The plan requires that certain criteria be submitted for consideration by the Washington State Department of Health for a determination by the Secretary of Health. The criteria include: testing availability and accessibility, number of tests performed weekly over a three week period, ability to investigate and trace cases of COVID-19, plans for isolation and quarantine facilities with the necessary services to manage COVID-19 and resources to rapidly respond to outbreaks in the community and congregate settings.
Ross said he’s frustrated by the extent of the requirements. “It’s kind of disheartening to be so close and then feel the frustration, especially of the citizens, who are wanting to go out and do things.”
The Secretary of Health has the final approval process for variances. Variances are also subject to being revoked if a significant outbreak occurs or circumstances change with any of the criteria.
“We are working diligently to answer all of the questions included in the variance application process,” said Johnson. “The most important goal in developing this plan is protecting the health of Grays Harbor county residents and re-opening in a way that reduces the potential for a sudden outbreak of COVID 19.”
Ross said Johnson will provide regular updates to county commissioners as the team explores a variance, and the topic will be discussed at the Tuesday, May 12 special commissioners meeting.
