WA virus order expiring, counties get more flexibility
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Friday announced he would not extend the states COVID-19 stay-at-home order beyond Sunday and would allow counties more flexibility to apply to advance through the current four-phase reopening plan using updated benchmarks that some larger counties had been seeking.
The stay-at-home order in place since March 23 was set to expire Sunday night. With the addition of two more counties Thursday, 26 of the states 39 counties are currently approved for Phase 2, which allows restaurants and taverns to reopen at half capacity with limited table sizes, hair and nail salons and barber shops to resume business, and retail stores to reopen for in-store purchases at 30% capacity. It also allows additional outdoor recreation and gatherings with no more than five people outside of a persons household.
Counties will have more flexibility to demonstrate that they have the capability to stay on top of the virus, Inslee said. This does not mean obviously that were returning to normal. It means that three months to the day after we declared a state of emergency, were successfully moving forward.
Immediately after Inslee's announcement, King County Washington's most populous county announced it would apply to allow a limited re-opening of some businesses, including outdoor dining at restaurants at 50% capacity and time-limited in-store retail at 15% of building occupancy. Also, the county that is home to Seattle would seek to allow outdoor gatherings of 5 or fewer people.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/wa-virus-order-expiring-counties-get-more-flexibility/ar-BB14MvN6?ocid=hplocalnews