Gov. Jay Inslee is prolonging the timeline of his statewide stay-at-home order by a month, the latest in a series of extraordinary measures aimed at slowing the spread of the novel coronavirus.
“This order is not only justified, it’s morally necessary,” Inslee said Thursday night, during a news conference announcing the extension. "We cannot lose steam in the middle of this fight."
That means the soonest the general public will be allowed to ease up on social distancing is after midnight on May 5.
Essential workers, including health care providers and grocery store clerks, are still exempt from the order that was first issued March 23 for two weeks.
If Inslee’s orders to stay home begin relaxing on schedule, residents in Washington still will end up spending more than half the spring season in social isolation. And we’re not alone. As of Thursday, millions of Americans in at least 38 states were being urged by public health officials to stay home unless absolutely necessary, many of them under shelter-in-place orders similar to Washington's.
Inslee acknowledged the great disruption, both economically and socially, for everyone — himself included. But he stressed these measures are temporary.
"I'm thinking of all kinds of sacrifices people are making," Inslee said. “The fastest way to economic recovery is a recovery of our health.”
Inslee said Thursday that Washington state has recorded roughly 6,000 cases and more than 250 deaths from COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the virus, since becoming the first epicenter of the nation’s outbreak. Technical problems have delayed the state Department of Health’s ability to release timely data on the latest cases.
The urgency to continue strict social distancing is rooted in the collective effort to “flatten the curve,” or reduce the strain on the state and national health care system. Public health officials have said without staying home away from public spaces, our region runs the risk of running out of hospital beds or ventilators needed to treat critically ill patients.
So far, Washington is projected to fare better than other states. Data compiled by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington suggest the state’s measures are working.
The latest modeling estimates the peak for health care capacity will hit less than two weeks from now, with a marginal shortage of beds in the state’s intensive care units.
Dr. Kathy Lofy, state health officer, noted during Thursday’s news conference that the modeling is the most accurate prediction for the peak of the outbreak.
Still, those numbers change day by day, and Inslee says we must stick to strict social distancing to maintain that trend.
"We will not accept unnecessary deaths in our state," he said.
