What’s WA’s COVID plan now? Expect details Thursday from state

Washington health officials will soon unveil the state’s newest long-term pandemic plan, detailing how they intend to bolster strategies on living with COVID-19 in the coming months, the state’s secretary of health announced Wednesday.

The plan, which health officials are calling “WA Forward,” aims to focus on engaging families and communities in continued COVID education; preventing further spread through vaccines, testing and masks; and preparing health and data systems to monitor disease trends and hospital capacity, state Secretary of Health Dr. Umair A. Shah said during a Wednesday news briefing.

The plan will be released Thursday morning, he said.

“This is a long-term forward plan to keep people, families and communities safe, protected and healthy as we move to this next phase of the pandemic, while continuing to monitor COVID-19 across the country, the globe and certainly here in Washington,” Shah said. “… It will guide us to coexisting safely with COVID-19 for the foreseeable future.”