Whitman County received approval on Friday to move to Phase 2 of Gov. Jay Inslee’s “Safe Start” plan for reopening, joining eight other counties that have already moved to that stage.

Spokane County is completely surrounded by counties advancing to Phase 2, which allows restaurants to open at half capacity and a variety of other business, including nail salons, barbers and retail stores to reopenwith safety precautions and restrictions.

Spokane County had two new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Friday, for a total of 396 countywide. Thirty people have died from the virus in the county.

Spokane County Health Officer Dr. Bob Lutz said he is encouraged by the county’s small increases and said that practices like wearing masks and physical distancing will need to continue as the county looks to move to Phase 2.

Lutz said he is concerned about residents traveling to surrounding counties for services or shopping while Spokane County remains in Phase 1.

The Department of Health rejected on Thursday a request from Spokane County to move to Phase 2, but Spokane elected officials believe they will hear more about that request from the health department and the governor’s office on Monday.

So far, only small counties with fewer than 75,000 residents and no new cases for three weeks have been approved to move to Phase 2 ahead of the rest of the state.

State health officials and the governor’s office have not approved criteria for larger counties to advance in the reopening phases, but Spokane leaders hope that the county will be the model.