OLYMPIA — More activities will be allowed in counties like Grant County that are in Phase 2 of the state’s four-step reopening plan, including limited access to libraries and movie theaters, Gov. Jay Inslee announced Tuesday evening.

“We’re doing this now because we have had ongoing conversations with businesses about how to do these activities safely,” Inslee said at a press conference Tuesday. “Instead of tightening restrictions, we can roll some more back to allow safer operation of these activities.”

In July, Inslee announced a pause to the Safe Start reopening plan, in which counties could progress into the next phase by reducing their rate of new cases to under 25 per 100,000 people for a two-week period. Grant County has not met that mark since it entered Phase 2 in late May. Currently, the county’s rate is more than 10 times what the guidelines recommend to move into a later phase.

Inslee’s Tuesday announcement does not permit counties to move into new phases, but rather allows counties in Phases 2 and 3 to engage in more activities.

For Grant County, the new rules will allow for 25 percent occupancy inside libraries and movie theaters, though those places will still have to require social distancing and masking.

Restaurants will be able to sell alcohol until 11 p.m., an hour later than the previous 10 p.m. cutoff, and customers sitting together are no longer restricted to being members of the same household. Additionally, the guidelines allow for the increase of table size to six in Phase 2 counties.

“Water recreation facilities” such as swimming pools are allowed to reopen, except for activity pools with play features, such as water slides, wave pools or water lagoons; all limited-use pools such as those in assisted living facilities, apartment complexes and hotels are allowed to reopen. Occupancy is limited based on the square footage of the facility.

Outdoor sporting events, including races and marathons, will be allowed with a limited number of participants and no spectators.

Real estate open houses are now allowed in Phase 2 counties, so long as there are no more than five people present at any given time.

School- and non-school-related sports will also be allowed in a limited capacity, based on the risk category of a particular sport and the rate of infection in a particular county. In Grant County, which is designated in the high-risk category of having over 75 cases per 100,000 people in the last 14 days, team practices and training can resume for all sports so long as there are no more than six people in a group and groups are separated with a buffer zone.

Scrimmage, intra-team competitions and league games will be allowed for low- to moderate-risk sports, but not for high-risk sports. High-risk sports include football, rugby, wrestling, roller derby, martial arts, water polo, basketball, and either cheerleading or dance with contact – however, cheerleading and dance without contact are considered low-risk.

Indoor facilities will still need to adhere to overall capacity limits, which in Phase 2 counties is limited to 300 square feet per person or 25 percent of occupancy in facilities larger than 12,000 square feet. Tournaments and spectators are not allowed in any county with more than 75 cases per 100,000 people in the last 14 days.

Emry Dinman can be reached via email at edinman@columbiabasinherald.com.