A surge in new cases of COVID-19 has actually persuaded the Spokane County commissioners and Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward to back off their earlier push to loosen pandemic restrictions.
As early as recently, the commissioners and Woodward were asking for that health officials allow Spokane County for an immediate move to Phase 3 of the guv’s re-opening strategy. But in interviews on Friday, they stated cases need to drop and more individuals need to follow safety measures before they will once again advocate for additional re-opening.
Last week Spokane County Health Officer Dr. Bob Lutz would rule out the county commissioners’ demand to immediately begin the process to move the county to Phase 3 of re-opening, citing evidence of neighborhood spread. Since Lutz turned down commissioners demand, there have been 274 new cases.
Spokane County Commissioner Al French said commissioners were having a “continuous conversation” with health authorities about new cases and health center capacity and stated he doesn’t prepare to promote re-opening for a couple weeks a minimum of.
” We’re working on a case-by-case basis up until we see progress, and a drop in the numbers,” he stated. “Then, we’ll proceed and make another demand, however I don’t see that occurring in the next week approximately.”
In the mean time, he urged everyone to take safety preventative measures and use a mask.
” I believe the biggest thing we need to be mindful about is using the mask and trying to drive these numbers