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Spokane City Council approves list of five things needed to keep economy open

The Spokane City Council approved the resolution on Monday by a vote of 6-0. Kate Burke abstained.

The Spokane City Council passed a resolution that outlines five things the city needs to do in order to maintain an open economy after reopening.

The council approved the resolution by a 6-0 vote. Kate Burke abstained from the vote.

First, the resolution lists the need test kits and materials. It calls for enough of these to test people with COVID-19 symptoms and those who may have been exposed to an infected person.

The city plans to form a group of people trained for contact tracing. This is a process of identifying people who may have been in contact with someone infected by the virus.

The health district will supervise the group along with assigned national guard members and state employees. They would contact newly identified patients and notify people of their potential exposure.

The resolution also calls for a centralized method for obtaining and distributing personal protective equipment. This is expected to help local businesses safely reopen.

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After Spokane reopens, the city would also like to see public health supervisors inspect and educate businesses on the best safety practices against COVID-19.

The final policy need is to reopen child care centers. The resolution mentions the need to support childcare providers through reimbursement for increased cleaning supplies, staffing and for limited capacity of children due to social distancing. It also includes the need for healthcare, sick leave and hazard pay.

The resolution calls for these policies to be implemented until the economy is fully reopened and physical distancing requirements return to normal.

In addition to policy needs, the resolution declares the city's endorsement of the state's four-phase reopening plan. The city will continue to work closely with the local health officer and state secretary of health for developing a variance criteria for community the size of Spokane.

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