GRANT COUNTY, Wash. — Governor Jay Inslee announced new criteria for a list of 10 larger counties to apply for Phase 2 sooner, but Grant County was not on the list.
With a population just under 100,000, Grant County's goal is to get 10 or less through a 14 day stretch.
Grant County Health District Administrator Theresa Adkinson said the county is currently satisfying the goal, but she added that the dates the state picked in order to gauge this number were April 28 through May 12. On those particular days, the total number of new cases exceeds the required 10, as the county has seen 29 new cases. Adkinson said she isn't sure why the state picked those certain days.
Adkinson added she would like to see more people wearing masks, and said businesses should not open their doors without proper guidance into phase two.
Grant County has 186 cases so far, including four deaths, and has completed 2,036 tests. The following graph indicates the numbers steadily increasing, but new cases are relatively low.
March 14 and April 29 marked the highest number of new cases in a day for the county, when it saw 11 new cases.
Adkinson said the Grant County Health District doesn't have a timeline, but said the county has a plan in place.
One of the ways GCHD is hoping to move forward is through increased COVID-19 testing, reducing the number of days from illness onset, available housing facilities for patients who can not self isolate or quarantine at home and maintaining staff capacity.
For more information, visit the Grant County Health Department website.