FRIDAY HARBOR, Wash. — The Whatcom County Council last week asked the governor to allow our multi-county region to move to Phase 2 of the Roadmap to Recovery plan.
But San Juan County and Nooksack Tribe Health Officer Dr. Frank James says Whatcom County’s high infection rate makes that a bad idea.
He’s also worried about the variant strain of the coronavirus that’s expected to become dominant in coming months, adding that people had coronavirus a couple of months ago are becoming reinfected, and are dying in significant numbers.
San Juan County with its low infection rate is also in the North Region with Whatcom County, which James says makes sense because this isn’t a localized problem.
He says he’s maintained close communication with San Juan business owners as they’ve navigated the pandemic together.
He encourages leaders in Whatcom and other North Region counties to adopt their model of cooperation.