coronavirus

In these times of uncertainty and upheaval amidst a global pandemic, Dr. Jessica Van Fleet-Green had reason to celebrate recently.

After three weeks of wearing the same N95 mask on her rounds at ManorCare of Lacey, a 120-bed nursing home near Olympia where she’s the medical director, she had managed to acquire a new mask.

“[F]eeling fresh as a daisy in a brand new stylish mask that was donated!” Van Fleet-Green wrote in an Instagram post featuring a photo of herself in the mask.

Mirroring the national trend, Washington and Oregon are experiencing an unprecedented spike in unemployment claims caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the last week, 133,464 Washingtonians and 76,500 Oregonians filed first-time claims for unemployment benefits. In Oregon, that represents a 15-fold increase in claims from the previous week. In Washington, the increase was more than eight-fold.

Advocates for people incarcerated in Washington prisons have filed a petition with the state Supreme Court seeking the immediate release of some inmates to reduce the risk of a coronavirus outbreak behind bars.

Following the lead of California and several other states and local communities, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Monday evening announced an immediate statewide "stay-at-home" order that will last for at least two weeks. It requires all residents of Washington to remain at home unless they are conducting essential business or taking a break for some fresh air.

As the state of Washington’s epidemiologist for communicable diseases, Dr. Scott Lindquist’s job is to study and try to control the spread of disease.

But these days he’s operating more like a logistics officer in the military. His phone is blowing up with calls from local public health officials on the frontlines of the battle against coronavirus. They’re asking for help in procuring the personal protective equipment (PPE) that healthcare workers need to test and treat patients.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said he wants to avoid imposing a statewide shelter-in-place order, as governors in California and elsewhere have done recently. But he said this will necessitate further voluntary reductions in social interactions by Washingtonians.

The Democratic governor used an unusually stern tone in a media briefing from his office at the state Capitol late Friday, saying "some progress" has been made to slow the coronavirus outbreak, but that "we have not done enough."

When COVID-19 got a toehold at Life Care Center of Kirkland, the results were devastating. Thirty-five people associated with that one facility have died, accounting for roughly half the deaths from the aggressive virus in Washington.

But it’s not just nursing homes and assisted living facilities, with their older and sicker populations, that are at heightened risk for a coronavirus outbreak. Any communal facility where a group of people are living, eating and sleeping together – from homeless shelters to group homes to jails and prisons to state mental hospitals – is a potential breeding ground for the virus.

At Pioneer Family Practice in Lacey, Washington, if a patient calls and reports symptoms consistent with coronavirus, they’re instructed to drive to the clinic and wait in their car. A doctor then walks out to meet the patient in the parking lot, conducts an exam and, if warranted, swabs their nose to test for COVID-19.

Even as Washington Gov. Jay Inslee uses his emergency powers to restrict gatherings of more than 50 people and orders the closure of bars, restaurants and other gathering spaces for at least the next two weeks, state agencies are scrambling to implement emergency measures to protect their employees and those they serve from the rapid spread of coronavirus. 

Joining states like California, Ohio and Illinois, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Sunday night announced plans to order the temporary closure of restaurants, bars, entertainment and recreational facilities, as well as restrictions on gatherings to no more than 50 people, as the state continues to battle what he called an "explosion of COVID-19 in our state and globally." 

Warning that the number of coronavirus cases in Washington could double weekly, Gov. Jay Inslee on Tuesday indicated that mandatory social-distancing measures could be announced this week and, in the meantime, imposed new restrictions on nursing homes.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee says mandatory social distancing measures may be required to stem the spread of coronavirus.

"We are contemplating some next steps, particularly to protect our vulnerable populations and our nursing homes and [the] like and we are looking to determine whether mandatory measures are required," Inslee said in an interview Sunday morning with CBS's "Face the Nation."

While touring the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta on Friday, President Donald Trump called Washington Gov. Jay Inslee "a snake.”

The president’s comments, which were captured on video, came one day after Vice President Mike Pence visited Washington state to address the growing coronavirus crisis. During that visit, both Pence and Inslee were complimentary of each other.

As the death toll climbs and the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Washington tops 70, Vice President Mike Pence traveled to the state Thursday to tour the Military Department’s Emergency Operations Center, meet with Gov. Jay Inslee and other elected leaders and announce the arrival of a shipment of supplies for healthcare workers from the Strategic National Stockpile in Atlanta.

As the death toll from the novel coronavirus continues to rise, many people who feel sick are naturally concerned they might have the infection. Until now, a coronavirus test has been difficult to get locally because of limited capacity and strict rules for who qualifies. However, both of those restrictions may relax soon.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said Monday that his emergency powers would allow him to order the cancellation of large public gatherings to control the growing coronavirus outbreak in his state. However, he told reporters during a briefing in Olympia that he does not plan to use that authority at this time.

As the death toll rises, Washington’s Secretary of Health is asking state lawmakers for $100 million in emergency funds to respond to the coronavirus outbreak. That’s a 10-fold increase over what the Washington Senate approved just last week.

“We know we’ve got the coronavirus in our community, we know that we’re having some community spread, we know that the risk is increasing,” Sec. of Health John Wiesman told the Senate Ways and Means Committee Monday morning.