No stay-at-home order yet, but Inslee says more steps may be needed

Gov. Jay Inslee on Friday expressed concern that some residents are not following his mandates to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus and prevent “significant loss of life of the people we love in the state of Washington.”

“Although I laid out orders ... for people to stop eating in restaurants and going to bars and other gathering places, and put limits on large gatherings, we are still seeing people ignoring both of these orders and common sense about what it takes to protect our loved ones,” he said.

“If people continue to ignore this common-sense provision, I will go farther to protect 7 million Washingtonians. So I am asking you — and you may say I am pleading with you — to stay home unless it is necessary for you to go out. I am asking both businesses and individuals to accomplish this,” Inslee added.

The governor spoke as California, New York and Illinois have ordered their residents to stay at home indefinitely except for workers who perform essential services. Washington has urged residents to tele-commute, but it hasn’t required it.

Inslee said he was not issuing a stay-at-home order on Friday, but “that does not mean we would not be here soon to make further legally-binding orders.” He said the state is analyzing what a stay-at-home order would entail, saying it would have “profound economic consequences” for the state’s residents.

“We understand that perhaps the force of law will not be necessary if Washingtonians act with the force of compassion, in the force of responsibility, in the force of sense that we all are indeed in this together,” he said.

As of Friday, Washington had 1,524 coronavirus cases with 83 deaths since the start of the outbreak.

The governor said the state has made some progress by closing schools, banning events and gatherings of 50 and more people and closing restaurants except for takeout and deliveries, as well as shutting down bars and entertainment and recreational facilities.

But he said “we have not done enough.”

He cited traffic counts on tolled roadways since March 1, which the state has used as a proxy to track trends in social interactions.

Traffic counts on State Route 99 and State Route 520 in Seattle have declined by 61 percent and 59 percent respectively in that time period, but traffic on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge has declined by only 24 percent and State Route 167 is down by only about 28 percent, according to state figures.

The governor said traffic on Interstate 5 through Lakewood has dropped by only 5 percent.

“That is not enough,” Inslee said. “It is clear we have continuation of too many social interactions going on in our state.”

Inslee said he is working on a proclamation to ensure that workers who are 65 years old and above have a legal right and the financial means to leave the workplace and self-isolate for the remainder of the outbreak.

“Employers have got to do their part to help flatten this curve and employers are encouraged to use all possible tools to offer high-risk employees flexible options for tele-work, alternate job tasks or administrative leave in order to maintain worker pay and benefits during this difficult time,” he said.

The governor’s office is determining whether it can accomplish those worker protections through an executive order or it would require legislation, which would involve calling a special session of the Legislature.

Inslee also said he is asking employers to make accommodations so workers can practice social distancing, which involves people being at least 6 feet apart.

‘We can’t have too many people in the room. We have to have clean and sanitizing in all places,” he said. “So regardless of your industry, whether it’s industrial or warehouse, in an office or a retail store, you have a moral and legal obligation to make this work for your employees.”

Saying the state is making progress in getting personal protective equipment for health care workers, Inslee said the the state this weekend will be receiving 1.6 million masks (also known as N95 respirators), 560,000 surgical masks, 12 million disposable gloves, 650,000 disposable gowns, and 74,000 canisters from the Strategic National Stockpile.

So far, there have been 20,700 tests for coronavirus — with 93 percent negative and 7 percent positive. About 3,500 tests are being done per day, Inslee said.

“We cannot be fooled to think that 7 percent means we’re out of the woods, because that 7 percent could represent potentially a doubling of this virus. So these facts do not give us sufficient confidence we have in any way, shape or form beaten this virus. The risk of an enormous explosion of the virus remains real,” he said.

The governor said people need to be protective of others in their personal lives.

Inslee urged people to tell elderly family members that they can’t go out except for essential errands such as buying groceries or picking up medications.

“Sure, it’s OK to go for a walk outside as long as you stay more than 6 feet away from other people. But it is too dangerous, particularly if you are in this age group, to be going to dinner parties, to be going to coffee klatsches and sewing needle get-togethers; that’s just too dangerous now. And it’s too dangerous, frankly, for your grandkids and your family to be close to you,” he said.

The governor also said while it’s important to “minimize our physical connectivity,” it also is a moment to “maximize our emotional connectivity.” He said it’s important for everyone, not just the elderly.

“We know the stress of isolation for all of us, particularly people of age, is really, really troublesome. But we can do something about that. We can call frequently, we can text, we can send letters and flowers,” he said.

This story was originally published March 20, 2020 at 7:07 PM with the headline "No stay-at-home order yet, but Inslee says more steps may be needed."