2:38 PM: Gov. Inslee and state health officials have just begun a media briefing/Q&A. You can watch live (and, afterward, archived) video above. We’ll post toplines as it goes. …. He begins by saying he’ll be talking about “a new way to move our state forward during the pandemic.” He reiterates, “We are not out of the woods yet,” but the new plan “Healthy Washington” will kick in “once we see COVID activity reduced.” The plan will not result in significant immediate reopenings, Inslee says, but will take effect 1/11 with “certain fitness programs” and “some live entertainment” allowed. This will be implemented by region, not by county, because “health-care systems are regional,” he says. The state will be split into eight regions for this plan. Advancing phases will be automatic when certain reduction goals are met.
2:44 PM: New state health secretary Dr. Umair Shah is speaking now. He says “disease growth has slowed – even leveled off” in many parts of the state. He says the restrictions Inslee ordered in November ‘are working.” Dr. Shah reiterates that the regional approach is important because of the way health-care systems are configured. There will be four metrics a region will have to meet to advance phases, he notes. The metrics will be checked on Fridays and any moving forward or back would be done on a following Monday. (It’s clarified later, this could mean some are eligible for Phase 2 as soon as Monday.) He also says “some additional information about vaccines and the 1b category” will be out later this week.
2:51 PM: Assistant Secretary Lacy Fehrenbach elaborates on the metrics, which include hospitalization and test-positivity data. The first round of analyses will be posted this Friday, she says, and any movement would take place next Monday (1/11, the day the plan starts).
2:55 PM: Inslee now turns to the vaccination effort and said he spoke with hospital CEOs this morning for an “assessment of our current vaccine rollout strategy.” CHI-Franciscan has administered 70 percent of what it’s received; Swedish, 67 percent; even higher percentages for some non-Western Washington systems. But he promises that efficiencies and “improvements” are being pursued, “to try to accelerate this program.” He says the CEOs expressed some concern about unpredictable delivery schedules keeping them from scheduling “large vaccine clinics.” He says more prioritization information will be coming from the Department of Health tomorrow, and a “Phase Finder” lookup will be launched so you can figure out what phase you’ll be in, and get notified when your phase is eligible. Moving the vaccine around has been “challenging,” he acknowledges.
Back to the disease situation: He says Washingtonians’ compliance during the holidays was good and that’s why things aren’t worse. He says “45 other states have higher infection rates” than ours. He believes that’s “saved thousands of lives.”
3:03 PM: Q&A. First is about more specifics on what’ll be allowed. Fitness – phase 1 starting 1/11, for example, “appointment-based fitness and training in gyms” with a space requirement. Live entertainment – “doing away with the blanket ban … (and instead implementing) restrictions on venues themselves,” so that something such as a person playing piano in a hotel lobby would no longer be banned. (We’re still awaiting the written details of the new plan.) … Another question is about how to find out about getting vaccinated if you are eligible. The hospital CEOs are willing to provide public access, for one, Inslee said, so a “regulatory change” is being pursued to enable that. He also suggested that “local smaller entities band together” to pursue access – say, small local dental clinics joining forces to contact a local hospital. First stop, though, should be “check with your health-care provider.” But so far, health-care workers and long-term-care facility residents and staff are who’s eligible. … In response to another question, the governor suggests that employers also can play a role in figuring out how to be sure their employees have access. … A little more info, in response to another question: Tennis would be allowed in Phase 1 as a “low-risk indoor sport.” … What about the idea of giving more people one dose of vaccine and worrying about the second dose much later? Dr. Shah says he’s not in favor of that so far – the vaccines were studied with two doses and they might be putting people at risk if they get one dose and not the other. Overall, the governor says, despite what you might have heard, “there’s very substantial vaccination activity going on in this state.” (He also mentions later that 30 percent of health-care workers so far have declined, and that rate needs to change.)
3:27 PM: Regarding the COVID-19 variants detected in other states/countries, Dr. Shah says they’re still watching for it and it’s another reason to remain vigilant with prevention efforts … In closing, the governor again thanked people for “saving lives” by following safety precautions. “We hope that people celebrate that accomplishment … there’s a reason for what we’re doing … life itself.”
4:30 PM: Full details are finally available – go here. Excerpt:
As for the metrics – from the Inslee website:
To go forward from Phase 1 to Phase 2, regions must meet all four metrics:
Decreasing trend in two-week rate of COVID-19 cases per 100K population (decrease >10%)
Decreasing trend in two-week rate new COVID-19 hospital admission rates per 100K population (decrease >10%)
ICU occupancy (total — COVID-19 and non-COVID-19) of less than 90%
COVID-19 test positivity rate of <10% To remain in Phase 2, regions must meet at least 3 metrics: Decreasing or flat trend in two-week rate of COVID-19 cases per 100K population Decreasing or flat trend in two-week rate new COVID-19 hospital admission rates per 100K population ICU occupancy (total — COVID-19 and non-COVID-19) of less than 90% COVID-19 test positivity rate of <10%. Regions that fail to meet two or more of the above metrics will be moved back to Phase 1. The metrics for each region will be updated on the Risk Assessment Dashboard every Friday. Dependent on a region’s metrics, DOH will move into a new phase — forward or backward — the following Monday.
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