Clark County’s application for Phase 2 of Governor Inslee’s COVID-19 recovery plan, which was submitted Friday, remains “on pause” with until an investigation is completed with a Vancouver fruit processing plant, in which nearly 40 employees tested positive for the virus. Cowlitz County’s application, however, was approved.

Clark County Council Chair Eileen Quiring said they will be releasing a statement this evening.

The following is today’s statement from the Washington Department of Health:

Camp Murray, WA — Today Washington State Secretary of Health John Wiesman approved variance applications for Cowlitz, Grant, Island, Jefferson, Mason, Pacific and San Juan counties to move into Phase 2 of Gov. Jay Inslee’s Safe Start plan.

A total of 21 counties have now been approved to move to Phase 2: Adams, Asotin, Columbia, Cowlitz, Ferry, Garfield, Grant, Grays Harbor, Island, Jefferson, Lewis, Lincoln, Mason, Pacific, Pend Orielle, San Juan, Skamania, Spokane, Stevens, Wahkiakum and Whitman.

The following counties are eligible to apply for a variance to move to Phase 2: Clallam, Kitsap and Thurston.

Applications from Kittitas and Clark counties are on pause until further discussion next week due to outbreak investigations.

Businesses approved to move into Phase 2 must comply with all health and safety requirements outlined in the guidance to reopen.

To apply for a variance, counties must have an average of less than 10 new cases per 100,000 residents over a 14-day period. The application process requires support from the local health officer, the local board of health, local hospitals, and the county commission/council.

Each county must demonstrate they have adequate local hospital bed capacity as well as adequate PPE supplies to keep health care workers safe. The application must include plans for:

Making testing available and accessible to everyone in the county with symptoms.

Staffing case investigations and contact tracing.

Housing people in isolation or quarantine who can’t or don’t want to do so at home.

Providing case management services to those in isolation and quarantine.

Responding rapidly to outbreaks in congregate settings.

The variance requests are reviewed by the secretary of health, who can approve the plans as submitted, approve with modifications or deny the application. If circumstances change within the jurisdiction, the variance can be revoked.

Learn more about county variances and the statewide response to COVID-19 at coronavirus.wa.gov.

Individuals can also find COVID-19 information on the Department of Health’s website or call 1-800-525-0127. Individuals can text the word “coronavirus” to 211-211 to receive information and updates on their phone wherever they are.

Vancouver, WA — On Saturday, Carolyn Long hosted a Small Business Roundtable with John McDonagh, President of the Greater Vancouver Chamber of Commerce; Ted Sprague, President of the Cowlitz Economic Development Council; and Eric Olmsted, Founder and CEO of On Line Support.

During the event, Long moderated a conversation in which guests spoke about a variety of topics pertaining to local businesses, the issues they are grappling with in the face of the coronavirus crisis, and the crucial information and resources being made available to small businesses who are dealing with the impacts of the economic shutdown. The conversation centered around questions submitted by people in the community, the key issues the guests have been working on and hearing about from small businesses, and the extensive resources they are focused on connecting small businesses with.

The guests continually emphasized the strength they are seeing in their communities, the incredible resilience and adaptability of our small business owners, and the impressive, innovative steps that are being taken at every level to save companies and jobs. They also all discussed the importance of effective and constant communication with the small business community because, as John put it, “small business people are focused on running their business.” 

“This has been incredibly helpful and informative. I thank you, John, Ted, and Eric for joining,”  Long said. “Thank you to all the small business owners out there. As I mentioned, I really think about my experience personally growing up as a member of a family that had a small business — and knowing that the resources like the ones here, that you’ve talked about today, might have been available to us would have been reassuring. So thank you to the small business owners, who are really the backbone of our economy. I will continue to be a strong advocate for small businesses as I continue on with my bid for Congress.”

SALEM, OR — An Oregon judge today invalidated statewide novel coronavirus restrictions mandated by Governor Kate Brown, saying she didn’t receive approval from the state Legislature to extend those orders, which expired after 28 days.

Baker County Circuit Judge Matthew Shirtcliff issued his opinion as his official response to a lawsuit filed by 10 Oregon churches that argued the government’s directives were unconstitutional.

Brown is seeking an emergency review by the Oregon Supreme Court. Her attorneys asked the judge to stay his ruling pending the high court’s review, but he declined.

“It is irresponsible to dismiss the health risks and science behind our measures to stop COVID-19,” said Brown. “We would be faced with the prospect of another mass outbreak without the tools that have proven to be effective in protecting our families, neighbors & loved ones from this disease.”

Legislators in Washington have been saying something very similar: That Governor Jay Inslee’s “stay home, stay safe” orders only had a 30-day limit, and have to be renewed by the Legislature. Inslee’s office counters that argument by saying he’s within his authority given the governor’s emergency powers inherent in the Washington Constitution.