Inslee: Too Early To Relax Social Distancing Orders In Washington

OLYMPIA, WA — Gov. Jay Inslee said Wednesday it was still too early to set a date for when Washington might reach the "transition point," where social distancing requirements could begin to be relaxed, and more people could return to work.

Recent modeling has shown some strides made in slowing the rate of new coronavirus infections and deaths in the state, but Inslee cautioned against letting promising early results dissuade people from full commitment to ongoing mitigation efforts.

Earlier this month, Inslee extended his "Stay Home, Stay Healthy" order through May 4, and the governor said there is a chance it may need to be extended further, depending on what the available science shows over the next three weeks.

On Monday, Washington, Oregon and California announced the "Western States Pact," presenting a shared approach to restarting each state's economy with a primary focus on health and science.

"We want it to come as fast as possible," Inslee said. "We now the order is in place through at least May 4, and we know that the more work we do today, the faster the transition point is going to come."

When the time is right, the governor said phasing out of social distancing efforts will be done incrementally, similar to how the measures were enacted in steps in March.

"This transition will not be a light switch, on and off, it will be a dial," Inslee said.

In order for that to begin, the governor said two key things must happen. First, public health officials must be satisfied that the rate of new infections has been driven down enough that the virus will not rebound. Second, the state must have the ability to rapidly test, isolate and treat any person with symptoms and quickly perform contact tracing. Neither of those goals have been met today.

"We need to build the equivalent of a fire brigade," Inslee said.

While the state's testing capacity outpaces much of the nation, the governor said a lack of available kits has prevented more widespread testing efforts to give health officials a more full picture of infections.

Recent models from the University of Washington provided some hopeful projections showing a steady drop in infections and deaths in the weeks ahead, but only if social distancing measures practices continue through May.

Another model suggests the rate of infections has plateaued, but is not actively dropping, which the governor said is not good enough. State leaders will continue to monitor the virus's behavior over the days and weeks ahead to determine whether the governor's order will need to be extended and develop a plan for reopening the economy when it becomes possible.

Health Secretary John Wiesman said Tuesday that even after most restrictions are lifted, it is likely that some precautions, including physical distancing, increased teleworking and the wearing of masks could remain necessary for several months.