Clark County, with nearly half a million residents and right across the river from Portland, could soon open its bars, restaurants and salons.
Public health officials say they aren’t worried about a rush of customers if the county gets approved.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced Tuesday 10 counties that may apply to enter the state’s second phase of reopening, including Clark County.
Clark County Public Health Director Alan Melnick said if the county is approved, people would still be expected to gather in small numbers. That would be true of locals and visitors alike, Melnick noted.
“If people from Portland are going to come up to Clark County and they want to gather, there can’t be any more than five of them,” he said.
He continued: “Certainly we’ve got concerns about people not following the recommendations. It doesn’t matter if they’re in Clark County or Multnomah, if they’re residents here and they get sick, we’re concerned about that.”
Seats sit empty at The Waterfront Vancouver on March 16, 2020. Clark County could soon see restaurants and bars reopen, if the county is cleared by the Washington Department of Health.
Troy Brynelson / OPB
Clark County has a population of about 490,000 people, larger than any county so far approved to reopen bars and restaurants in the region. Clackamas County in Oregon plans to apply Friday.
Before the county can enter Phase 2, it must first apply and get permission from the state Department of Health. It’s not clear when Clark County will get its application submitted to the state.
“As soon as possible,” Melnick said. “Hopefully sometime this week. Today’s Tuesday so hopefully sometime within the next few days.”
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Besides Clark, Lewis County also made the list, alongside Adams, Spokane, Mason, Thurston, Clallam, Kitsap, Island and San Juan counties. Of those, only Spokane, with a population of 522,000, has more residents.
Counties landed on the list if they had 10 or fewer cases per 100,000 residents over the last two weeks.
If approved, restaurants, bars, pet groomers and professional offices could start reopening, so long as they follow new safety guidelines set by the governor’s office for each industry.
“We are definitely anxious to move forward with that,” said Eileen Quiring, Clark County councilor. “We want to be very prepared — and we’re ready, I believe, to move forward. And happy to do so.”
Skamania and Wahkiakum counties have both gone through this process already. Some restaurants have begun reopening in Skamania County, for example, though they kept indoor seating off-limits to start.