Good thing she held off for one day. Otherwise, Gov. Inslee would have kept Whitman County locked down.
A new confirmed case of coronavirus in Whitman County is not expected to derail the effort to try to start reopening local businesses.
According to a Whitman County Public Health press release, the department received the new positive test result Today. The patient is a woman between the age of 20 and 39. She is stable and isolating at home. Close contacts have been notified and are being tested.
This brings the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Whitman County to 17. It had been 22 days since the last confirmed case of coronavirus in Whitman County which marks the longest stretch without a case since the first local patient was diagnosed 2 months ago.
Officials say the new case is not expected to have an impact on Whitman County’s request to begin reopening businesses. The county submitted the request on Wednesday after going 21 days without a new confirmed case of coronavirus. Washington Governor Jay Inslee’s phased reopening plan allows rural counties to ask to move to phase 2 reopenings ahead of the rest of the state. That request can only be made after a county goes 21 days without a new confirmed coronavirus case.
Officials expect it will take about 5 days for the Washington Secretary of Health to decide on the local request. Phase 2 allows retail and salons to open along with restaurants and taverns at half capacity.
16 of the 17 coronavirus patients in Whitman County have recovered and none needed to be hospitalized.