All of Washington is now in Phase 2 of reopening after data-reporting error discovered

The south central region of Washington state that includes the Tri Cities, Yakima and Walla Walla will move to Phase 2 of the “Healthy Washington – Roadmap to Recovery” immediately, after a hospital’s data-reporting error was discovered, the state Department of Health announced Sunday,

The region had previously been the only one of the state’s eight regions to be stuck in Phase 1 after target metrics for reopening were re-evaluated last week.

Providence St. Mary Medical Center in Walla Walla had been reporting its data incorrectly, according to the Department of Health. It was reporting all of its COVID-19 patients, not just new COVID-19 patients, an email from Gov. Jay Inslee’s office reads. The error skewed the data sent to the state Department of Health, which calculates data for the Healthy Washington metrics.

“On Friday, Feb. 12, Providence St. Mary Medical Center discovered an error in its reporting of COVID-19 positive patients admitted to the hospital, and immediately provided corrected data to the Washington Department of Health,” said Susan Blackburn, the hospital’s Chief Executive, in a prepared statement. “The error was unintentional, and we acted as quickly as possible to provide corrected data to the state.”

Local health officials looked at the data because it didn’t match what they were experiencing in their communities, according to an email from Inslee’s office. They then brought it to the state, and the Department of Health and others validated it.

“We rely on local hospitals to provide this data that informs decisions,” the email from Inslee’s office reads.

With Sunday’s news, the entire state was in Phase 2, which allows gyms and restaurants to reopen indoor activity at 25% capacity among other loosened restrictions.

Regions need to meet three of four targets set by the state to move to Phase 2. Whether regions should move phases is evaluated every two weeks.

The target metrics are:

• A 10% decline in case rates per 100,000 population over the last 14 days compared to the prior two weeks;

• A 10% decline in two-week COVID-19 hospital admission rate per 100,000 population;

• Average seven-day intensive care unit (ICU) occupancy rate below 90%; and

• A test positivity rate below 10%.

If a region in Phase 2 misses any two metrics, it slides back to Phase 1. The two trend metrics — case rates and hospital admission rates — can be declining or flat and still be considered meeting those targets, according to previous reporting.

The Department of Health’s next announcement of phase adjustments will be Thursday, February 25.

The governor has so far not offered a timeline for more information on potential future phases of the reopening plan.

This story was originally published February 14, 2021 at 12:37 PM.