Healthy Washington COVID Recovery Plan

In a news conference on January 5, Governor Inslee announced an updated COVID recovery plan that takes effect on January 11.

The new two-phased Healthy Washington plan aims to ease some restrictions while also maintaining crucial hospital capacity and paving the way for economic recovery. Eventually, businesses like restaurants and fitness facilities will be allowed to reopen at service levels comparable to those seen before the current pause, which was first implemented on November 16, 2020.

The new Healthy Washington plan breaks the state up into 8 healthcare regions: King, Pierce, and Snohomish County are grouped together. All regions will begin in Phase 1. In general, most sectors of the economy will not reopen significantly until a region advances to Phase 2 (except for some limited entertainment and fitness scenarios).

During Phase 1 of the new Healthy Washington Recovery Plan, indoor gatherings and indoor dining remain prohibited; outdoor dining with a maximum of six and limit of two households per table is permitted with an 11:00pm close. In addition, retail, personal services, and professional services — where remote work is not possible — and worship services are limited to 25% capacity.

A region’s phase will be determined by the Department of Health (DOH) in response to four measured requirements, to be calculated weekly, on Fridays. To advance from Phase 1 to Phase 2, regions must meet all four of the following metrics:

• A 10% decreasing trend in case rates per 100,000 individuals
• A 10% decrease in COVID-19 hospital admission rates
• Hospital ICU occupancy (COVID and non-COVID-19 cases) of less than 90%
• COVID-19 test positivity rate of less than 10%

Worsening metrics may result in reverting from Phase 2 back to Phase 1. Learn more, and view details, on the Governor’s blog page.