As of today, Kittitas County submitted a variance application to enter Phase 3 of the Washington State Phased Approach to COVID-19. On June 17, Kittitas County became eligible to apply for the next phase after successfully maintaining Phase 2.
The Kittitas County Public Health Department (KCPHD) and Kittitas County Incident Management Team (IMT) has been working on the variance application for weeks. In order to move to Phase 3, the KCPHD/IMT must complete the application, ensure our county is meeting the state required metrics, and have approval from the Kittitas County Board of Health (BOH) and the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC). As of this morning, both the BOH and BOCC voted in approval of the Phase 3 variance application.
The Washington State key metrics that are required of our county include the number of new COVID cases, number of individuals tested per new case, percent of individuals testing during the past week, percent of licensed beds occupied by patients, and percent of licensed beds occupied by COVID-19 cases. In addition to approval and meeting the metrics, the application must also have a letter from Kittitas Valley Healthcare along with a narrative that explains our COVID activity, testing capacity, resources for case investigation, isolation and quarantine capacity, along with lessons learned from Phase 2.
The determination as to whether our Phase 3 variance application is accepted will be decided by Washington State Secretary of Health John Wiesman. KCPHD/IMT does not know when a response will be received. For more information about the application to move from Phase 2 to Phase 3, please visit https://coronavirus.wa.gov/
During Phase 3, recreation facilities like public pools can open and operate at less than 50% capacity. Kittitas County could resume non-essential travel. Additional businesses may open and some businesses can increase their current capacity. For more information on the State’s Phase approach, visit https://coronavirus.wa.gov/.
The IMT will send a press release out as soon as we hear from Secretary Wiesman. If you have questions about your health, please contact your healthcare provider or you can call the Temporary COVID Clinic at KVH at 509-933-8850. If you are having a medical emergency, call 911 or go to the Emergency Department at KVH. If you have general questions about COVID-19, please call the EOC at 509-933-8315 or 509-933-8305.
