OLYMPIA, WA — Washington Governor Jay Inslee has announced a new, phased reopening plan which will gradually allow select industries to go back to work.
The plan, called “Healthy Washington,” replaces the older four-phase Safe Start plan. Safe Start was announced early in the pandemic and used for months, but was scrapped in the fall, when a record-breaking surge in transmissions pushed state leaders to cancel the current phases in favor of new, stricter statewide regulations.
Now that Washington has finally begun to see improvement battling the winter surge, leaders say it’s time to consider greater reopenings.
“We’re seeing some signs that disease growth has slowed for COVID-19,” said Dr. Umair Shah, Washington’s new secretary of health. “In fact, it has even leveled off in many communities across the state.”
As the governor noted at his conference Tuesday, it will be a few days at least before any of