Inslee Will Limit Concerts, Sports To Slow Coronavirus: Report

SEATTLE, WA — Gov. Jay Inslee will be joined by three county executives and three mayors in Seattle Wednesday morning to reveal "new community strategies and social distancing plans" as the number of coronavirus illnesses and death continue to rise in Washington.

LATEST: Washington Bans Large Gatherings, Events To Slow Coronavirus

The Everett Herald reports Inslee will annouce a ban on all gatherings with more than 250 people in attendance, starting in the state's three most populated counties. Sporting events and concerts would reportedly be included in the ban. According to the Seattle Times, the measure is not expected to affect retail stores or public schools.

According to numbers from the Washington Department of Health Tuesday, at least 267 Washingtonians have contracted COVID-19, and 24 people have died from complications linked to the virus.

Tuesday's update included an additional 74 cases identified in King County since Monday, and public health officials said illnesses have been confirmed in 10 nursing homes.

Cases by county:

King: 190 cases (22 deaths)
Snohomish: 54 cases (1 death)
Pierce: 16 cases
Kitsap: 2 cases
Jefferson: 1 case
Grant: 1 case (1 death)
Kittitas: 1 case
Skagit: 1 case
Clark: 1 case

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During a press briefing Tuesday morning, Gov. Jay Inslee acknowledged even the latest numbers are likely a drastic undercount.

"Unfortunately, since we haven't tested 7 million Washingtonians, we know that there are many, many other people today, in Washington state, who have the virus and who have not been diagnosed," Inslee said. "There is a range of that number, but the number I use is about 1,000, and it could be a lot more than that, frankly."

Recent research has indicated that cases are doubling every 5 to 8 days, prompting state leaders to consider a range of firmer "social distancing" actions, including the cancelation of major events or potential involuntary quarantine measures.

"If you do the math, it gets very disturbing," Inslee said. "If there are 1,000 people infected today, in 7 or 8 weeks, there could be 64,000 people infected in the state of Washington."

"We need to look forward, ahead of the curve," Inslee said.

The governor's office has not formally released specific measures the state will implement. Inslee will be joined Wednesday by county executives from King, Pierce and Snohomish counties, and the mayors of Seattle, Tacoma and Everett for a press conference at 10:15 a.m. in downtown Seattle.

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During the same briefing, state agencies outlined a few other steps taken to protect residents at assisted living facilities and assist employees and employers during the ongoing outbreak.

Washington's health insurance exchange also opened a one-month enrollment window for uninsured people who wish to sign up for health coverage.

New rules for visiting nursing homes and assisted care facilities:

• Visitors must be adults and the visit must take place in the resident’s room. This does not apply to end-of-life situations.
• All visitors must follow COVID-19 screening and follow reasonable precautionary measures. Precautionary measures include, but are not limited to, wearing personal protective equipment, social distancing, or visiting in designated locations.
• All visitors must sign into a visitor’s log. Owners and operators must retain that log for 30 days.
• Employees or volunteers must be screened for COVID-19 symptoms at the start of each shift.
• People who live in nursing homes or assisted living facilities and who test positive for COVID-19 must be isolated away from other people.
• Owners, operators, staff and volunteers are prohibited from disclosing protected and confidential health information, except as otherwise provided by law or with the resident’s consent.

Emergency rules to make state unemployment benefits more flexible:

• Workers will be able to receive unemployment benefits and employers will get relief of benefit charges if an employer needs to curtail or shut down operations temporarily because a worker becomes sick and other workers need to be isolated or quarantined as a result of COVID-19.
• A worker that follows guidance issued by a medical or public health official to isolate or quarantine themselves as a result of exposure to COVID-19 and is not receiving paid sick leave from their employer, may be eligible to receive unemployment benefits.
• If a worker falls seriously ill and is forced to quit, they may qualify for Paid Family Medical Leave while ill under the existing program. Once recovered and available for work, they may apply for unemployment benefits.
• It removes the full-time requirement and expands standby ability to part time/less than full-time workers who are isolated.

People at high risk for complications from COVID-19 are:

• People older than 60
• People with chronic medical conditions, such as heart disease, lung disease and diabetes
• People with weakened immune systems
• Pregnant people

The Washington Department of Health has published these fact-sheets to help residents decide what steps to take:

• What to do if you have confirmed or suspected COVID-19
• What to do if you were potentially exposed to someone with confirmed COVID-19
• What to do if you have symptoms of COVID-19 and have not been around anyone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19