reopening

It was almost a year ago that Athena Fitness in Olympia was facing financial doom. The women-owned business had opened just before the pandemic struck. In August of last year, new COVID restrictions threatened to put the owners out of business. So, what’s happened since?

Fifteen months after Washington state's first “stay at home” order was issued in response to the coronavirus, businesses across the state are now allowed to return to pre-pandemic operations.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Tuesday said all of the state’s counties will remain in their current phase of the state’s economic reopening plan and won’t face more restrictions because new COVID cases are levelling off after a recent spike.

More people will be allowed at indoor and outdoor spectator events and indoor religious services if there are designated COVID-19 vaccination sections, under new guidance issued by Gov. Jay Inslee Monday.

The Northeast Tri-County Health District on Friday announced that it has moved Ferry County back a step because of an outbreak, brought upon, at least in part, by two maskless parties at an Eagles’ Lodge in Republic in mid-April.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is expected to soon roll back the economic reopening of more counties because of rising coronavirus cases. Reverting to Phase 2 would force businesses, museums and churches to reduce indoor capacity.

Gov. Jay Inslee announced Monday that Whitman, Pierce and Cowlitz counties would be affected. It comes after Inslee changed the criteria last Friday, saying counties had to fail two key metrics in order to revert backward.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced Friday that counties now must fail in two metrics to be moved back a phase in their reopening. The governor says the state won't act unless counties have both a high hospitalization and case rate.

It's the news many have been waiting for. Starting March 22, all 39 Washington counties will advance to Phase 3 under a revised COVID-19 reopening plan Gov. Jay Inslee unveiled on Thursday.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said none of the state’s regions will revert back to more restrictive COVID-19 requirements under the state’s economic reopening plan under a pause in potential rollbacks the Democratic governor announced Thursday amid dropping case counts.