Governor grants reprieve from tighter COVID-19 restrictions

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Tuesday announced a two-week pause to the state’s “Healthy Washington — Roadmap to Recovery” plan. That means counties will stay at their current level of COVID-19 restrictions, for now.

The pause came the day Inslee had said any changes to counties’ phases would be announced. Several counties — “a dozen or so,” according to Lacy Fehrenbach, deputy director for COVID-19 response at the state Department of Health — were in danger of backsliding to or staying in Phase 2 of the three-phase plan.