Gov. Jay Inslee announced April 29 the current “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order will remain in effect past the original May 4 end date. 

“Our guidance for lifting restrictions is based on data and science,” Inslee said. “The current order will remain in effect. We will have more details Friday on the phase-in approach about how we will open our economy in a safe way.”

To determine what restrictions can lift and when they can lift, the state government is monitoring the spread of the virus, the readiness of the health care system to handle patients, the state’s testing capacity and availability, the state’s ability to do case contact investigations, and the risk posed to vulnerable populations. 

Right now, Washington still sees around 200 new cases each day. 

“We have to get these numbers down so we can move to the next phase of our recovery,” Inslee said. 

Abandoning social distancing measures now would cause a spike in new cases and deaths, he said.

“We see numbers, but each one of these numbers is a person,” Inslee said. “If we stop our efforts today, we’re going to see a lot more people die in the state of Washington in the not-too-distant future.”

Increasing the state’s testing capacity is necessary to lift restrictions. 

“Our testing capacity has been sorely taxed,” Inslee said. 

The state has the ability to run around 22,000 tests per day, but a lack of testing supplies such as swabs and viral transfer fluid means the actual number of tests is much fewer than that. 

“Our success in this is dependent on our ability to get test swabs and viral transport media,” Inslee said. “We have been urging the president to get us greater assistance. We simply have to manufacture more of these products.”

As testing increases, the state also needs to increase its ability to investigate cases. When someone tests positive, public health officials have to be available to contact everyone the patient has been in contact with so those individuals can self-quarantine.

Right now, around 560 people are doing coronavirus case investigation statewide. By May 11, the state hopes to have 1,500 people hired to do case investigation. 

In addition to increasing testing and case investigation, the state’s health care employees must have the personal protective equipment they need.
“We have been dedicated to obtaining this material and have not been able to get as much material as we need from any source,” Inslee said. 

All of these issues together determine whether the state can move to the next phase of reopening the economy, Inslee said. 

On Friday, he plans to give another press conference discussing what the next phases will be for reopening the economy.