OLYMPIA — Gov. Jay Inslee said Friday he isn’t ready to order residents to stay in their homes, but he might go down that path if Washingtonians don’t make a greater commitment to blunting the spread of coronavirus by drastically reducing social interactions.<\/p>\n
“We have made some progress, but it is not enough. We are still seeing people behaving as if this virus was not a mortal threat,” Inslee said at an afternoon news conference. “Everybody needs to change their behavior.”<\/p>\n
He also had a stern message for employers, saying they must do more to protect workers who are most at risk of contracting COVID-19. If they don’t, it might be mandated by the state.<\/p>\n
“I’m working on a proclamation to ensure these workers have a legal right to leave the workplace to protect their health and self-isolate,” Inslee said of people in vulnerable populations, including workers over 65. “Whether it’s industrial or a warehouse or an office or a retail store, you have a moral and legal obligation to make this work for all your employees.”<\/p>\n
When asked if the Boeing Co. should temporarily shut down its massive assembly plant at Paine Field in Everett — a step some workers are seeking because of concerns about their potential for exposure to the virus — Inslee demurred. The aerospace giant is an integral part of the economy, he said. The safety and economic impacts on families from such an action must be considered.<\/p>\n
“What we want to tell Boeing employees and all employees,” he said, “is that if you’re are over age 65 or have serious underlying medical conditions, you ought to be able to stay at home, keep your job and collect unemployment benefits.”<\/p>\n
On Friday, the state Department of Health reported a cumulative 1,524 confirmed cases<\/a> in Washington and 83 fatalities.<\/p>\n The Snohomish Health District said the county has logged 385 coronavirus <\/a>cases<\/a>, and an eighth death occurred Thursday — a woman in her 90s with underlying health conditions who was connected with the Josephine Caring Community in Stanwood.<\/p>\n King continues to be the worst of 25 counties that report COVID-19 cases. On Friday the tally there was 793 infections and 67 fatalities.<\/p>\n In recent days, leaders of California and New York responded to a rise in COVID-19 cases and deaths in their states by imposing shelter-in-place restrictions on residents.<\/p>\n Inslee said Friday that Washington residents are already living with many of the same restrictions.<\/p>\n He has acted to close schools for weeks, ban large social gatherings, shutter bars, gyms and other businesses, and to limit restaurant service to only take-out or drive-thru options.<\/p>\n Nonetheless, shelter-in-place on a regional or statewide basis is still an option.<\/p>\n