MOSES LAKE/RITZVILLE — Officials in Grant and Adams counties decided not to apply for Phase 3 of the state’s four-phase reopening plan over the weekend, when the recommended three weeks in Phase 2 were completed.

Local officials decided there had been too many recent new cases of COVID-19 cases, though missing one of the state’s benchmarks does not automatically disqualify a county from moving forward.

Speaking at a meeting of the Grant County Health District on Wednesday, June 10, county Health Officer Alexander Brzezny said that Grant County had seen 60 to 70 confirmed cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 people for the previous two weeks, which is more than the state’s earlier stated maximum of 25 cases to qualify for Phase 3.

“Phase 3 is unlikely this month,” Brzezny said.

Under the four-phase reopening plan put forth by Gov. Jay Inslee last month, counties in Phase 2 have benchmarks to meet — 25 or fewer new cases per 100,000 people for two weeks, adequate spare hospitalization capacity and reserve personal protective equipment — to be approved for Phase 3. Grant County is meeting all the requirements except in the new cases, Brzezny said.

There are currently three COVID-19 outbreaks in Grant County — associated with a day care center, a long-term care facility and farmworker housing. However, Brzezny said most of the confirmed cases are fairly evenly scattered across the county.

“You have to be stable for two weeks before Phase 3, and we’re in unstable times right now,” Brzezny said.

Brzezny said that around 40 percent of all the COVID-19 cases in Grant County since the outbreak started were reported in the previous two weeks. Most of it was likely the result of the informal loosening of business closures and public gatherings beginning with Mother’s Day and extending through Memorial Day, he said.

He said the health district is going to continue working to “maintain a high level of testing,” do what can be done to ”avoid exponential growth” and protect those most at risk from COVID-19. He also said it was important to “responsibly restart the economy.”

Brzezny told health district board members that the best ways to limit the spread of the disease are “behavioral changes and physical distancing.”

Because of the number of new cases in the county, the Grant County Health Department did not apply for Phase 3 over the weekend. Fifty-eight cases were reported between Wednesday, June 10, and Wednesday, May 27, significantly more than the 25 cases per 100,000 people in the state guidelines.

Adkinson said that the county is currently meeting the other metrics set out by the state, including the availability of personal protective equipment, hospital readiness if there were a surge of COVID-19 patients and the district’s ability to respond to new cases in a timely manner.

Adams County did not apply for Phase 3 over the weekend either. Thirty new cases were reported in the county between Thursday, May 28, and Thursday, June 11. The previous two weeks had a rate of just over 150 new cases per 100,000 people. Health officials had previously stated that missing the state’s recommended metrics is not automatically disqualifying, but widespread or significant outbreaks could make it less likely that an exception would be made.

“Our caseload puts us well above the acceptable numbers for doing so,” wrote Karen Potts, community health director with the Adams County Health Department, in an email.

Charles H. Featherstone and Emry Dinman contributed to this report.