WA on Phase Pause Until July 28; 6 More COVID-19 TC Deaths Monday

Governor Jay Inslee said today that Washington's economic recovery plan will be put on pause through July 28th, no Washington county will be allowed to move up in Phases until at least then, while the Benton Franklin Health District reported 6 deaths in the Columbia Basin from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours.

There were four deaths in Benton County: a woman in her 50's; a man in his 60's; a man in his 80's and a man in his 90's. In the last day, there have been 100 new confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 bringing the Benton County total to 2,487.

In Franklin County, a man in his 50's with underlying health conditions passed away, as did another man in his 70's. There were 42 new confirmed COVID-19 cases in Franklin County since Monday, bringing their total to 2,505 cases.

During his news conference today, the Governor stressed the "Mask Up Open Up" campaign, touted declining Yakima County case numbers and the dropping need for coronavirus hospitalizations in Yakima, but warned of big trouble ahead, labeling this time frame a "danger zone" if we don't figure out how to knock this down.

He said there are a growing number of cases for persons in their 20's and he mentioned he's talked to leaders in academia trying to brainstorm with those running colleges and universities how to help younger students, emphasizing finding ways to ensure schools continue to educate.

He said people should not be surprised by more possible rollbacks, unless people wear masks and practice social distancing.