OLYMPIA — Gov. Jay Inslee announced Friday he would extend Washington’s stay-home order through May 31, but is seeking ways for some businesses to open before then, as he and state officials try to keep the new coronavirus from roaring back.
“If we stick together for a while longer, we don’t lose the gains we’ve already made,” Inslee said, acknowledging that restrictions on daily life have been challenging for many Washingtonians. “It’s so frustrating, we don’t want to do this twice.”
Inslee’s announcement comes as he and others try to chart a delicate course between a virus that has now killed more than 60,000 Americans, according to numbers by the federal government, and a state economy decimated by the closing of society and commerce. And it comes as some states around the nation begin relaxing restrictions in an effort to curb economic harm.
The governor has cited a slew of models and metrics that inform his decision-making, including the daily number of new confirmed cases, as well as COVID-19 fatalities, hospital data and projections for how the virus may spread. But Inslee has not given specific numbers he’s looking for before easing restrictions. He said he wants a combination of favorable numbers across the data.
In the plan issued Friday, Washington’s economy and social life would reopen in four phases, with some types of businesses ideally beginning to reopen in mid-May as the first phase even as the stay-home order remains until the end of the month.
Those businesses include retail stores able to offer curbside pickup. Automobile sales and car washes would reopen, with some restrictions. The governor also intends to allow drive-in spiritual services with one household per vehicle.