Whatcom County residents seem to tire of stay-at-home order to fight coronavirus
After more than a month, Whatcom County residents seem to be getting tired of staying at home, one of the measures put into place by the state to control the spread of the new virus that causes COVID-19.
Erika Lautenbach, director of the Whatcom County Health Department, said that she and other people she’s talked to are, anecdotally, noticing an increase in activity outside at a time that the number of new confirmed cases of COVID-19 have slowed in the county and Washington state.
“I think, in some ways, we’re a victim of our own success. We’ve all seen more people on the roads, at stores, grocery shopping, etc.,” Lautenbach said during an online briefing with reporters on Monday, April 27. “That is a concern.”
“If I could speculate, I do think that there is a different perceived risk about exposure now than there was when the ‘Stay Home, Stay Healthy’ order was put into place,” she said.
Gov. Jay Inslee issued that order to residents and businesses on March 23 to force public social-distancing — gatherings were banned and people were told to stay at least six feet away from each other — to curb the spread of COVID-19 statewide.
The governor has lifted some of those restrictions — on Friday, he said work on current construction projects could resume provided sites had a plan for controlling COVID-19 exposure — but most “non-essential” businesses remain closed and most workers remain at home.
Easing outdoor restrictions
On Monday, April 27, Inslee announced that he was easing restrictions on some outdoor recreation, starting on Tuesday, May 5 — as long as people took certain precautions, including social distancing.
That partial reopening will be scaled backed if there’s a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases or people not following the steps needed for safety, Inlsee said in a statement.
“This is not a return to normal,” Inslee said. “This is only a beginning phase of relaxing outdoor recreation restrictions.”
Fishing, hunting, hiking and other day use at state parks, state public lands managed by the Department of Natural Resources and at state Fish and Wildlife areas will be allowed again starting next month.
The announcement applied to day use at state parks, wildlife areas, recreation land, boat launches and natural areas, according to a DNR release. But camping and other overnight accommodations on those lands are still banned.
“Some parks may not open immediately due to impacts on rural communities and the potential for crowding. State Parks is working with local communities and its partners to determine the best approach and timing to reopening these areas,” state parks officials said Monday in a release.
Golf courses in the state also are being allowed to reopen on May 5.
Reopening comes with rules, including:
▪ Don’t play outside if you have cold or flu-like symptoms.
▪ Stay close to home. Don’t travel farther than necessary to recreate and don’t stay overnight.
▪ Recreate only with those who live in your household.
▪ Maintain social distancing at trailheads, boat launches and all places where you encounter others.
▪ Wear masks if social distancing isn’t possible.
▪ Spacing out tee times, no on-site drinks or food service, and limits on size of parties — foursomes if they are from the same household or a max of two players from separate households per tee time — for golfing.
‘Quarantine fatigue’
Protests against Inslee’s blanket order, which will last until May 4 for now, have started to pop up, although thousands also have rallied online to show their support for the order.
The governor has said that reopening the economy statewide depends on a continued flattening of the curve of the COVID-19 outbreak and that such efforts would be phased in. They would depend, in part, on having enough testing and contact tracing in place when it comes time to consider the May 4 stay-at-home order, he said.
Contact tracing involves tracking down others who have come into contact with someone sick with COVID-19.
What’s called “quarantine fatigue” isn’t an issue only in Whatcom County. A University of Maryland study, which used anonymous cell phone data, showed that Americans are starting to become lax about social distancing, according to an April 27 story on NBCNews.com.
“We recognize that this is not a Whatcom County issue. This isn’t a Washington state issue. This is a United States of America issue,” Lautenbach said. “This is something that health departments all over the country are starting to see and starting to face and try to address in a way that really sort of balances the need to reopen the economy with the need to control the further spread of this disease.”
Lautenbach said the county health department is working on preventing a second high peak of COVID-19 illnesses — public health officials here have said that the first wave in the county has likely passed — with a focus on testing, case investigation and helping businesses reopen safely with infection control and social distancing measures.
Public health officials also will continue to remind county residents of the importance of social distancing and other steps they can take to control the spread, such as hand-washing, not touching their face and wearing cloth masks when in public, according to Lautenbach.
This story was originally published April 27, 2020 at 3:40 PM.
