Gov. Jay Inslee released a statement Friday after the Washington State Department of Health announced additional counties are eligible to move to Phase 2 under the Safe Start plan.

According to the release, Inslee stated that his office is hard at work determining the next steps as the state moves closer to the May 31st expiration of his Safe Start order, and that decisions will be driven by public health data and not the calendar.

Inslee added, "To be clear: this does not mean that we will be able to open every county in the state on June 1. Counties that continue to have large numbers of infections are not in a position to open up stores, restaurants and services safely."

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