Grays Harbor and Pacific counties have been through two weeks of their Phase 2 openings. If current trends continue, both counties would qualify to apply for a Phase 3 variance by the end of the week — June 12 for Grays Harbor, June 13 for Pacific.

Phase 2 has allowed some businesses to re-open and green-lighted operations like charter boats some public recreational facilities, with restrictions.

Phase 3 allows for outdoor group recreational sports activities of up to 50 people and gyms, public pools and other recreational facilities to open at 50% capacity. It also allows gatherings of up to 50 people and resumption of non-essential travel. Restaurants can operate at 75% seating capacity with tables of up to 10, and bar areas at 25% capacity. It allows for customer-facing government services, and allows libraries and museums and other business activities to resume except for nightclubs and events with more than 50 people. High risk populations are still strongly encouraged to stay home unless engaging in stage-permissible activities.

“There is a minimum of three weeks between phases; this means the soonest we could apply for Phase 3 would be June 12,” said Nick Falley, assistant public information officer with the Grays Harbor Public Health incident management team. “With that, we still have to meet criteria set forth by Washington State Department of Health.”

The criteria include COVID-19 activity, health care system readiness, testing, case and contact investigations, and protecting high-risk populations, he said.

The state has set up a dashboard that shows how counties are doing in regard to the requirements needed to move into the next phase of reopening. It can be accessed at https://coronavirus.wa.gov/what-you-need-know/covid-19-risk-assessment-dashboard.

The dashboard describes “key metrics,” which are measured to determine a county’s ability to safely move into the next phase. As of June 3, both Grays Harbor and Pacific counties were meeting the goals needed to move into Phase 3.

The metrics include:

– COVID-19 activity: The ideal target for new cases is 25 or fewer per 100,000 residents over a 14-day period. Grays Harbor County has had four in the two weeks prior to June 3, Pacific County had none.

– Number of people tested for each new case during the prior week: The goal is more than 50 tests given for each positive result. As of June 3, Grays Harbor County stood at 109, Pacific County at 62.

– Percent of individuals testing positive during the past week: The goal is less than 2%. Grays Harbor was at 0.9% and Pacific County at 0% the period ending June 3.

– Percent of licensed hospital beds occupied by patients: The goal is less than 80%. Grays Harbor stood at 29.9% as of June 4, with 49 of 164 licensed beds occupied. Pacific County 33.3%, with six of 18 licensed beds occupied.

– Percent of licensed hospital beds occupied by COVID-19 patients: The goal is less than 10%. The most current numbers showed Grays Harbor County at 4.9%, with eight licensed beds out of 164. Pacific County was at 5.6%, with one bed out of 18.

To qualify for moving into the next phase, counties must also show rapid turnaround time for test results. In case contacts and investigations, the Department of Health goal is to contact 90% of cases by phone or in person within 24 hours of receipt of a positive lab test result. There is also a goal of reaching all that person’s contacts within 48 hours of a positive test result. Additionally, there are goals to make contact with each case and contact during their home isolation or quarantine.

There are also goals for work, congregate living and institutional settings — assisted living facilities is an example. In counties with less than 75,000, like Pacific and Grays Harbor, the ideal number of outbreaks reported by week is zero. Each county must also show they have an adequate supply of personal protective equipment for first responders and health care workers.

In a statement released Friday, which announced the approval of 14 counties to move into the next phase of reopening, the state Department of Health said, “The metric goals for moving between phases are intended to be applied as targets, not hard line measures. Where one target is not fully achieved, actions taken with a different target may offset a county’s overall risk.”

The process for applying for a Phase 3 variance would be the same as it was for the Phase 2 variance. Falley said the county Public Health Officer submits a recommendation, the county Board of Health then must approve it, local hospitals submit letters certifying system readiness, and the Board of County Commissioners must approve the application for the variance. From there it is submitted to the Washington Secretary of Health, who makes the final determination on the variance: to accept the variance request for full entry into the next phase, deny the application, or approve the application with modifications.