EPHRATA — Grant County commissioners will meet at 11 a.m. Friday to approve a request, which will be forwarded to state officials, to allow the county to begin reopening businesses closed in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. The meeting will include a presentation from the Grant County Health District.

Governor Jay Inslee ordered businesses closed and individual movement restricted in March in an effort to combat the outbreak. Inslee announced a phased reopening plan May 1.

Counties that met certain criteria could apply for a variance to speed up their reopening. Grant County didn’t qualify for the variance as of Wednesday, but county officials thought the county was close to meeting the criteria.

- Cheryl Schweizer