Washington State’s Pause On Reopening May Remain If Cases Climb

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) – Officials say that if cases of coronavirus continue to increase, it’s unlikely that a current statewide pause for counties looking to advance from their current stage of reopening will be lifted at the end of the initial two-week timeframe.

Gov. Jay Inslee announced the pause last week for the state’s 39 counties, which are in various stages of a four-stage economic reopening plan.

Health Secretary John Weisman said Wednesday that not only will a continuation of daily increases keep counties paused where they are, officials will have to consider whether they need to roll back reopening in counties by whole phases, or make other changes.