[OLYMPIA] – (MTN) As expected, Governor Jay Inslee announced the rollback of three counties that were not meeting adjusted Phase 3 Healthy Washington COVID reopening requirements.

“These metric trends are driven by the virus and we must continue to do everything we can to sharpen our focus and keep COVID-19 activity down. We are so close to the end of the tunnel here — we have made tremendous progress and we must keep our focus,” Inslee said.

The biggest change to commerce when rolling back to Phase 2 is public businesses such as gyms and restaurants have to operate at 25% capacity. Gathers should be limited to 5 people indoors, and 15 people outdoors.

All counties will be re-evaluated in two weeks. King and Skagit counties were close to crossing the line for rolling back but didn’t cross the thresholds. To date, 40% of Washington residents have at least their first COVID vaccination shot.