Local

Health director withdraws recommendation for Phase 2.5 amid increasing COVID cases

June 30, 2020 04:11 PM,

Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department’s Director of Health, Dr. Anthony Chen, said he wants to cancel plans to move into a modified Phase 2 of Washington’s Safe Start COVID-19 recovery plan.

“I am no longer in a hopeful place. Because the health of our community is my top priority, I am withdrawing my recommendation for Pierce County to apply for an expanded Phase 2,” Chen said in a Tuesday blog post.

Pierce County has reported almost 400 new and confirmed COVID-19 cases.

Pierce County’s 14-day case total is 44.1 per 100,000, which nearly doubles the Phase 2 target of 25 or fewer cases per 100,000 residents over a 14-day period.

The percentage of positive tests is increasing.

“We are at 3.6% while our target should be less than 2%,” the blog post said. “This means the increases are from more disease and not just more testing.”

The July 1 Board of Health meeting included a resolution to submit an application to enter the modified Phase 2.

Board Chair Catherine Ushka said in an email she requested the removal of the item.

“The board will still discuss this under the COVID-19 response report on the agenda,” she said.

An expanded Phase 2 would allow outdoor gatherings of up to 25 people for social and recreational purposes. Indoor gatherings of up to five people per week from other households would be allowed. Libraries and museums could open with physical distancing and Phase 3 safety requirements.

The modified phase would not allow recreational activities like team sports and the opening of public swimming pools, where respiratory droplets are highly likely to be released. All other businesses and religious services would remain the same.

Gov. Jay Inslee’s Safe Start plan is geared toward slowly reopening society while hopefully curbing the spread of the coronavirus. Pierce County was approved for Phase 2 on June 5.

Since then, COVID-19 cases have been on the rise in Pierce County.

In Tacoma alone, 18 new cases were reported Tuesday. Over the weekend, Pierce County saw a spike of more than 50 new cases reported in one day.

Last week, another congregate care center was added to the county’s list of outbreaks, with University Place Care Center added to the county’s list with 33 cases.

Tuesday evening, the Tacoma City Council is set to approve a resolution “encouraging” residents to use face coverings or masks when in public spaces. The resolution was set to be added to the agenda even before the new statewide requirement was announced last week.

The measure cites, among other reasons for the need, an elevated infection rate across a 14-day stretch as of June 24.

Chen, in a blog post last week, warned the county’s grip on Phase 2 was slipping.

The state Department of Health late last week raised concerns on growth in new cases in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties, noting that growth in Pierce, in particular, appeared to be outpacing new testing.

Earlier on Tuesday, the state Department of Health issued an alert ahead of the holiday weekend recommending people not travel great distances in the state for summer trips.

“Phases 2 and 3 allow more travel than Phase 1, but that’s not a green light for everyone to travel as much as they want,” the department wrote on Tuesday.

“We still want people to limit their travel,” State Health Officer Dr. Kathy Lofy said in a statement Tuesday. “We have places in Washington with a lot of COVID-19 activity. If there’s a lot of cross-state travel this summer, that could spread disease around the state.”

She added, “Public Health is requesting that if they do travel, that they stay closer to home. If people want to travel and it’s allowed based on their phase, we don’t want people traveling across the state. Stay local.”

Secretary of Health John Wiesman noted: “Travel that includes sightseeing and dining out can increase the spread of the disease. If everyone goes about their lives as normal this summer we will likely see a resurgence of cases and may need to close down businesses again which we don’t want to do.”