By Pepper Fisher

OLYMPIA — Gov. Inslee announced Thursday all counties in Washington will move to Phase 3 of the state’s “Healthy Washington” reopening plan on March 22.

Under Phase 3, indoor spaces can have 50% occupancy with up to 400 people as long as physical distancing and masking is enforced. Outdoor events with permanent facilities can have 25% occupancy for spectators, which applies to high school sports, motorsports, rodeos and other events that have permanent seating. It means the Seattle Mariners can have fans for Opening Day. Expanded capacity for high school and youth sports will start March 18, while the remainder will take effect on March 22.

The state will also move away from a regional system in the reopening plan to a county-based system. In early January, counties were grouped into eight regions and moved forward or backward with their region. Counties will now be assessed individually.

The state will evaluate counties every three weeks on two metrics; new cases per 100,000 residents in a 2-week period and hospitalizations per 100,000 people in a 7-day period, to remain in Phase 3. If a county fails one of those metrics, they will move backwards one phase.