STATE OF WASHINGTON

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
PO Box 47890  Olympia, Washington 98504-7890
Tel: 360-236-4030  711 Washington Relay Service

June 5, 2020

The Honorable Dave Somers
Snohomish County Executive
3000 Rockefeller Avenue, M/S 407
Everett, Washington 98201-4046
Dear Executive Somers:
I am in receipt of Snohomish County’s COVID-19 application requesting approval to fully implement
Phase II of Governor Inslee’s Phased Approach to Reopening Washington Plan. I have found your
application to be complete and your public health, health care, and community resources to be
appropriate for consideration.
Snohomish County’s Phase II application is hereby approved with the following conditions:
1. An individual business is only allowed to reopen after it can implement the state guidelines for a
safe start. The guidelines can be accessed at: https://coronavirus.wa.gov/what-you-need-know/safestart.
2. Your department must notify the Washington State Department of Health 24/7 on-call
communicable disease duty officer at (206) 418-5500 of any COVID-19 outbreak within your
jurisdiction and must do so within six (6) hours of your notification.
3. You are required to monitor the pandemic in your community for signs of community transmission
or any concerning acceleration. If you find such condition(s), you must promptly notify the
Washington State Department of Health 24/7 on-call communicable disease duty officer at (206)
418-5500 and request a consult with the state’s infectious disease epidemiologist or health officer.
4. You will be required to report to DOH on a weekly basis your performance metrics for daily
contact with cases during their isolation period and contacts during their quarantine period.
Instructions for doing that will be sent under separate cover early next week.
5. You may not proceed to Phase III of Governor Inslee’s Phased Approach to Reopening
Washington Plan without further authorization to do so from me. In no case will authorization to
move to the next phase be given without at least a three (3) week monitoring period.
Subject to the conditions in this approval, the activities and business services listed in Phase II of
Governor Inslee’s Phased Approach to Reopening Washington Plan are now permitted in Snohomish
County and exempt from the Stay Home – Stay Health Proclamation’s prohibitions. These activities
and business services are:
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Recreation: Outdoor recreation involving 5 or fewer people outside your household (camping,
beaches, etc.)
Gatherings: Gather with no more than 5 people outside your household per week

 The Honorable Dave Somers
June 5, 2020
Page 2
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Travel: Essential travel and limited non-essential travel for Phase I & II permissible activities
Businesses/employers:
o Remaining manufacturing
o Additional construction phases
o In-home/domestic services (nannies, housecleaning, etc.)
o Retail (in-store purchases allowed with restrictions)
o Real estate
o Professional services/office-based businesses (telework remains strongly encouraged)
o Hair and nail salons/barbers
o Pet grooming
o Restaurants/taverns <50% capacity and table size no larger than 5 (no bar-area seating)

People in high-risk populations are strongly encouraged to limit their participation in these Phase II
activities and business services. High-risk populations are currently defined by the CDC as:
•
•

•

Persons 65 years of age and older;
People of all ages with underlying medical conditions (particularly not well controlled), including:
o People with chronic lung disease or moderate to severe asthma,
o People who have serious heart conditions,
o People who are immunocompromised,
o People with severe obesity,
o People with diabetes,
o People with chronic kidney disease undergoing dialysis, and
o People with liver disease; and
People who live in a nursing home or long-term care facility.

I may revoke this approval if circumstances change within your jurisdiction, such as a significant
community transmission, no or minimal access to COVID-19 testing, inadequate surge capacity in the
hospital, inadequate PPE supplies, inadequate case and contact investigations, inadequate daily
monitoring of cases during their isolation period or cases during their quarantine period, inadequate
isolation or quarantine facilities, or other conditions warranting significant concern. My intent would
be to discuss my concerns with you prior to taking such action. However, if I find urgent concerns, I
reserve the right to immediately revoke the approval. The Governor also retains the right to re-impose
restrictions upon your jurisdiction under his authority.
The Washington State Department of Health stands ready to provide any technical assistance you may
need in your implementation. We appreciate your work and commitment to your community.
Respectfully,

John Wiesman, DrPH, MPH
Secretary of Health
cc:

Shawn Frederick, Snohomish Health District
Dr. Chris Spitters, Snohomish Health District