Cheers: To Phase 2. Clark County will move into the second phase of the state’s coronavirus restrictions on Monday, a reflection of the virus’s diminishing impact. The county meets necessary levels for three metrics: Occupancy of intensive care units, a two-week decrease in infections, and the two-week rate of hospital admissions.
Among the changes, Phase 2 allows restaurants and fitness centers to open for indoor operations at 25 percent capacity, and low- and moderate-risk indoor sports are allowed. Indoor weddings and funerals are permitted with restrictions. Despite the progress in flattening the curve, this is not a time for residents to get complacent. The virus continues to spread, and caution is necessary. Local residents should continue to seek vaccinations when eligible, and mask-wearing and social distancing remain essential.
Jeers: To counterfeit respirators. Washington hospitals are scrambling to identify and remove personal protective equipment fraudulently marked as N95. Cassie Sauer of the Washington Hospital Association estimates that 2 million phony masks were distributed across the state.
N95 masks, manufactured by 3M, are capable of filtering tiny airborne particles and are coveted by health care workers. Officials say it is not clear how the fraudulent masks got into the supply chain, but the coronavirus pandemic has provided opportunities for many different types of swindlers.
Cheers: To Dakota Spencer. As the first 2021 graduate of TEAM High School, Woodland Public Schools’ alternative high school, Spencer is planning to join the Marines this year. She was honored recently at a one-person graduation ceremony.
“She worked her tail off to finish in time — she worked through 11 courses, almost two full semesters, in less than four months,” math and science teacher Liz Vallaire said. TEAM High School was created in 1997 and offers individualized learning programs to accommodate students’ life circumstances. “Many people hear ‘alternative school’ and think it’s a place for ‘troubled’ kids,” Vallaire said. “We want to change that perception. We have high-achieving students.”
Jeers: To a lack of vaccines. Washington health care providers will receive about half their requested allotment of COVID-19 vaccines next week, with 206,125 doses expected. “We wish we could get everyone vaccines now but supply continues to be our biggest challenge,” said Michele Roberts, acting assistant secretary for the state Department of Health. “Although the doses are not where we want them to be, we’re optimistic about the future.”
President Joe Biden has invoked the Defense Production Act to increase vaccine production and on Thursday announced the purchase of hundreds of millions of doses. But for now, supply is not keeping up with demand.
Cheers: To federal assistance. The Eastern Washington town of Malden finally is receiving help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The Biden administration has approved a disaster declaration five months after a wildfire destroyed about 80 percent of the town’s structures. The aid package will support nine counties and two tribes devastated by a series of fires.
Federal assistance typically is routine, but in this case it was held up by the Trump administration — reportedly because of a feud with Gov. Jay Inslee. “This financial assistance will help rebuilding public infrastructure that suffered damage — things like power lines, roadways, fencing around public areas and water and sewage systems,” Inslee said.
