Widespread disapproval of Inslee's new COVID-19 recovery plan

DAYTON–Columbia County has been placed in a region that includes Yakima, Benton, Franklin and Walla Walla counties, and Governor Jay Inslee's recently launched recovery plan requires the region to qualify as a whole before all counties can progress to a higher phase, and local officials are not happy with this situation.

Inslee's plan separates the State into eight regions, and Columbia County is in the South-Central Region together with other well-populated counties such as Yakima, Benton and Franklin, which have consistently had a high number of cases, Martha Lanman of Public Health informed commissioners January 11.

According to the plan, the region as a whole has to meet certain criteria for moving from Phase 1 into Phase 2. Both Lanman and the Commissioners agreed that the new plan makes things difficult for the County to find the path forward, especially for certain businesses like restaurants.

Most counties, including larger ones and including Columbia County, are sending letters to the Governor and the Secretary of Health to decry the new plan.

Columbia County is not the only small county with low cases being placed into larger regions with counties with high cases. As a result, counties and their commissioners are contacting one another to navigate these new guidelines.

Lanman has regularly reported low numbers since the first COVID case in March last year. Currently, the County is at 11 cases. She also reported that there has been no apparent "uptick" since the holidays.

Shane McGuire, CEO of Columbia County Health System, and Lewis Neace, DO, were on the Zoom meeting, and both stated that they prefer local control rather than a regional approach to better focus on local objectives when facing the challenges of COVID-19.

Commissioner Charles Amerein asserted the new plan is one step towards Inslee's broader plan of regionalizing public health departments across the State. Lanman affirmed this and said that this general regionalization is already in legislation with a plan leading up to 2024, when State funding is planned to be dispersed to the regions.

Amerein said we have compliant legislators, a fairly compliant State Supreme Court, but not so compliant regions and that legal action is expected. Lanman said she would keep the Commissioners updated during the process. The Commissioners agreed that they would contact local representatives to voice their disapproval of this plan and Commissioner Ryan Rundell encouraged the public to do the same.

Lanman told the Commissioners she is drafting a community letter asking County residents to stay focused on keeping people safe and the schools open. She said the community has a lot to be proud of with keeping the numbers low and that our schools have been open as much as they have been.

She also said that it is thanks to a community effort that Booker Rest Home has had zero cases. Additionally, she indicated that there are 700 people on the vaccination waiting list already which shows a positive local response. Lanman concluded that all of this together presents a strong case why regionalization is not the best approach towards recovery for the Community.