Inslee sketches outlook for reopening
OLYMPIA — Gov. Jay Inslee said that state officials are looking at ways to begin loosening restrictions imposed by the state as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, but he warned that the process could be slow and many restrictions may not be lifted by the May 4 deadline.
“It will be more like turning a dial than flipping a switch,” Inslee said in a short address to the state Tuesday evening.
Inslee said the process of lifting the stay-at-home order, the closure of non-essential businesses and banning of large gatherings will be guided by science and data to make sure that loosening restrictions does not lead to an uptick in infections.
“We need to steel ourselves against this virus for some time,” the governor said. “It could come back in waves.”
The governor imposed the statewide stay-at-home order on March 23. It was originally set to expire on April 24, but he extended it to May 4.
Inslee said his office is looking at lifting the ban on elective medical procedures, outdoor recreation and private residential construction to resume, so long as proper safeguards and protections are in place. He said a “sensible plan for a limited return” of construction has been agreed upon with builders and labor leaders.
“We’ve done a lot on residential construction,” Chief of Staff David Postman said at a Q&A session after Inslee’s speech. “We’ve got a 30-point plan of job site requirements for safe operation.”
However, Postman said there was no list or schedule of when particular industries will be allowed to reopen. Rather, he said the state will work with each industry to determine the best ways for offices and factories to operate safely.
“It’s not going to be a simple process. I know a lot of businesses are hurting,” he said. “There’s a lot of work to be done.”
Postman also would not say if hunting and fishing were activities that would be included in any loosening of restrictions on outdoor activities, noting that the state needs to “be careful not to lift too much up too soon.”
He also said that local governments do not have the power to declare state laws or gubernatorial proclamations unconstitutional, noting that belongs to the courts, and not county commissions.
On Tuesday, members of the Franklin County Commission voted 3-0 to allow businesses to reopen in Franklin County.
During his speech, Inslee said the state’s laboratories, as well as the necessary medical supplies, are simply not in place to be able to conduct the 20,000-30,000 COVID-19 tests per day statewide the state needs in order to stay on top of the pandemic.
“We are drastically behind what we need on testing supplies,” he said. “Swabs, vials, reagents, we are doing all we can to acquire that.”
Inslee said that by the second week of May, the state will also have around 1,500 contact tracers working to track infections. Around 600 of those are in place, according to State Health Officer Kathy Lofy, while another 800 “volunteers” consisting of county health department workers and National Guard soldiers are being trained.
Finally, state officials said that while a regional approach to reopening business is possible, it is unlikely given the concern about infections rates rising as people flock from closed urban counties to newly reopened rural ones.
Postman was emphatic in noting that while public health is critical, state officials do not want to keep the closures in place “one hour longer than we have to.”
Charles H. Featherstone can be reached at [email protected].