Inslee Extends Order, Details Plan For Reopening Washington

OLYMPIA, WA — Washington will begin relaxing restrictions on public gatherings and businesses in four phases, Gov. Jay Inslee announced Friday. The governor will, on Monday, sign a second extension of the state's "Stay Home, Stay Healthy" order, keeping many restrictions in place through the end of May.

"We have not won the fight against this virus," Inslee said. "Monday's order will continue a ban on public gatherings, [and] many businesses will have to remain closed."

"The new normal is not here yet."

During a news conference Friday, Inslee said the ten counties with the fewest cases can apply for a waiver from the Department of Health and could begin reopening certain sectors of their economy on a faster timeline.

Four phases for reopening Washington

The first reopening phase, the governor said, is already underway in Washington, and allows certain construction projects to resume, a limited return for outdoor recreation, drive-in faith services, vehicle sales, car washes and curbside or pickup retail services. The governor said the initial phase should be fully implemented by mid-May.

The second phase of reopening will restore all outdoor activities for groups of five or fewer people from outside the household, including camping activities and trips to the beach. Inslee said new construction will be permitted, along with house cleaning, in-store retail, salons and barber shops, with certain restrictions. Restaurants will be allowed to resume in-house dining, with capacity capped at 50%, and no more than five diners per table.

Phase three will allow for gatherings of 50 or fewer people, including some recreational sports, boost restaurant capacity to 75%, and allow bars to reopen at 25% capacity. Indoor gyms and movie theaters can reopen at 50% capacity, but nightclubs will remain closed.

The final phase of the plan will restore public interactions for all, with physical distancing remaining, and welcome all recreational activity and gatherings of more than 50 people. Nightclubs and concert venues may reopen, and large sporting events can resume.

Inslee said his office estimates roughly three weeks between phases.

Even after the state reaches the end of the governor's plan, Inslee said some precautionary measures will remain necessary for months until pharmaceutical interventions, including a vaccine, are available.

"Our return to normal will still not look the way they did before the virus hit us," Inslee said.

The governor estimated there was a "very good chance" schools would return in the fall. During a digital town hall Friday, Ana Mari Cauce, president of the University of Washington, said she was hopeful students would return to campus for fall quarter in September.

Testing and contact-tracing teams

Earlier in the week, the governor shared several data points his office considers when determining when it is appropriate to relax certain measures. The state also launched a new dashboard, allowing the public to track progress in each category via Washington's coronavirus website.

Ramping up testing ability in Washington has been one of the central tenants of the governor's plan to reopen Washington, and Inslee has said his goal is for the state to process at least 20,000 tests every day. While current lab capacity allows for that, a shortage of testing kits has previously limited the number of tests to about 4,600.

After weeks of requests by Gov. Jay Inslee and others, the Pentagon announced it will spend more than $75 million to manufacture supplies for millions of test kits under the Defense Production Act.

Inslee said the White House promised to provide Washington with more than 500,000 test swabs every month.

"In my conversations with the Trump administration, I have repeatedly emphasized the need for the federal government to create new sources of domestic production through use of the Defense Production Act — not merely compete with states in the procurement of existing production," Inslee said. "I am heartened by today's commitment to do precisely that."

According to the governor, the federal government will immediately begin shipping large numbers of testing supplies and continue to send them weekly, through at least June.

The other pillar of Washington's recovery plan is a large contact-tracing team, which will quickly respond to potentially infected patients, isolate them, order tests and track down others who may have been exposed to the virus.

The governor said the team is expected to have 1,500 members by May 11, including 700 from the Washington National Guard.