Healthy Washington - Roadmap to Recovery
Effective Januay 11, 2021, the State of Washington launched Healthy Washington - Roadmap to Recovery which will use a regional approach for its upcoming phased recovery plan. Regions are largely based on the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) regions used for evaluating healthcare services given the concern for COVID-19's potential impact on the healthcare system. There will be eight regions in Washington that fall along county lines. Most regions in Washington have four or more counties. These regions are designed based on the available healthcare services in the area which has a strong connection to the metrics being used for COVID-19 hospitalizations, case data, and general mobility of individuals.
East Region
The three counties of northeast Washington are grouped into the east region that includes:
- Adams, Asotin, Ferry, Garfield, Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Spokane, Stevens, Whitman
Phases
The State of Washington will begin the Healthy Washington - Roadmap to Recovery plan with only two phases while it continues to assess the evolving pandemic. Additional phases may be added in the future as the impact of continued vaccine distribution and other changes in COVID-19 response require.
Ferry, Pend Oreille, and Stevens Counties are Currently in:
Phase 3
Important Reference Documents
- Roadmap to Recovery Metrics- Phases by Regions and Key Metrics
- Regional Phase Status (Roadmap to Recovery)
- Outdoor and Open-air Structures
- Voluntary Contact Information
COVID-19 Reopening Guidance For Businesses and Workers
Business activities must adhere to the occupancy and operation requirements outlined for their region's Healthy Washington Phase
Healthy Washington Requirements
Metrics
On every other Friday, Washington State Department of Health (DOH) will update the Healthy Washington - Roadmap to Recovery dashboard with the latest data and region phase designations. A region may move into a new phase (forward or backward) if their metrics meet the criteria using the most recent complete data. This move will take effect the Monday after the dashboard is updated. Updated metrics will be available here through DOH.
There are four metrics in total - two metrics that measure community disease levels (i.e., trends in case rates, test positivity) and two that measure health system capacity (i.e., trends in COVID-19 hospital admission rates, ICU occupancy).
Three out of the four metrics for the east region must be met in order to move forward from Phase 1 to Phase 2.
- Decreasing trend in 14-day rate of new COVID-19 cases per 100K population;
- Decreasing trend in 14-day rate of new COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100K population;
- Average 7-day percent occupancy of ICU staffed beds less than 90%;and,
- 7-day percent positivity of COVID-19 tests less than 10%
In order to remain in Phase 2, a region must continue meeting at least three of these four metrics.
- Decreasing or flat trend in 14-day rate of new COVID-19 cases per 100K population;
- Decreasing or flat trend in 14-day rate of new COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100K population;
- Average 7-day percent occupancy of ICU staffed beds less than 90%; and,
- 7-day percent positivity of COVID-19 tests less than 10%
If a region in Phase 2 regresses and no longer meets at least three of the four metrics, the region - including all counties within - will move back to Phase 1 on the following Monday.