Washington state to ease some COVID-19 restrictions

Gov. Jay Inslee says some COVID-19 restrictions in Washington will be eased beginning next week and the state will change its reopening plan to move from a county-based oversight system to one focused on regions.

At a news conference Tuesday the Democratic governor said the state’s new guidelines would go into effect Jan. 11. Inslee said some live entertainment with very tight capacity restrictions and some fitness programs would be allowed.

Washington will divide each of the state's 39 counties into eight geographic regions based on health system resources when considering virus oversight.

All counties will begin in Phase 1 and the reduction of COVID-19 metrics will determine when it advances into Phase 2. In Phase 2, restaurants could reopen at 25% capacity and sports events with limited capacity would be allowed as well.

In January, the first confirmed case in the United States was recorded, a Snohomish County man who had travelled to China. A month later, the state also saw the nation’s first lethal outbreak at a nursing home in Kirkland.

Since the beginning of the pandemic there have been more than 256,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Washington and more than 3,480 deaths.