Jeff Duchin, health officer with Public Health - Seattle & King County. The steps are necessary to control the COVID-19 outbreak, said Dr. The policy is set to last until the end of the month, but will likely be extended, he said. Jay Inslee announced Wednesday he is prohibiting gatherings of over 250 people in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties, a nearly unprecedented move in peacetime liberal democracies and one that represents a significant escalation in the effort to contain t he new coronavirus. “We just haven’t had to use them in a long time.” “These are tools from the past that still work,” said Julie Fischer, a professor at Georgetown University's Department of Microbiology and Immunology. Hillary Clinton responds to Trump indictment with ‘But Her Emails’ merch. Trump-appointed judge Aileen Cannon assigned to his documents case House cancels votes for rest of week amid floor ‘chaos’ Mexico to explore ‘legal and diplomatic measures’ over Florida’s migrant. GOP sees conflict of interest in Trump indictment Trump shakes up legal team in documents case after indictmentīiden vetoes measure overturning student loan forgiveness plan READ: Trump indictment in classified documents case Watch live: Special counsel in Trump documents case delivers first remarks Republicans buckle down for what could be marathon blockade Trump indicted on 37 counts in Mar-a-Lago case Stunning UFO crash retrieval allegations deemed ‘credible,’ ‘urgent’ Special counsel to make first remarks on Trump indictment This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Restaurants, retail, music, arts, culture, movie and theaters can and should continue if they are able to meet these criteria.”Ĭopyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. “We are seeking to take a targeted approach that still recognizes that it can be safe and it is vitally important for our economy to function,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine. The restrictions don’t apply to restaurants, grocery stores or family events. Local health officials in the three counties are also requiring that gatherings of fewer than 250 people meet specific public health guidelines to limit the spread of the virus. Inslee painted a dire picture of what could happen in Washington if health officials didn’t act immediately to limit social interactions, with an estimated 60,000 cases by May. Inslee said more guidance for schools would come soon, but asked districts to begin planning for potential closures. “We do not want to see people shoulder to shoulder in bars. But employers should take precautions to ensure spaces are not crowded. Inslee urged companies to allow their employees to work from home, an option he noted is not possible for everyone, particularly service workers. have been identified in recent days, partly due to increased testing by commercial and public health labs. More than 121,000 cases have been confirmed worldwide, including 1,050 in the U.S., according to Johns Hopkins University. Inslee’s announcement came just after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a pandemic, meaning the virus has sustained spread on at least two continents. “Unfortunately, we know that the rest of the nation will be where we are perhaps in a couple or three weeks,” he said. Inslee said he hopes the action Washington is taking will set a template for other cities and states experiencing outbreaks. “There is no magic silver bullet at the moment medically, but there is a very successful effort that we can take to slow the spread of this disease and that’s to reduce the social interactions that are not necessary in our lives,” Inslee said. Officials in Washington say they are past the point of containing the virus and are now trying to mitigate it, slowing its spread so as not to overburden hospitals. The state has 267 confirmed cases, but Inslee conceded there are likely “hundreds if not thousands” of people in Washington who have the virus but don’t know it. The restrictions, which apply to King, Snohomish and Pierce counties, represent some of the most drastic measures a state government has taken to slow the spread of the coronavirus. It is likely the restrictions will be extended into next month, Inslee said. “But I believe they are the right ones.”Įvents and gatherings that are prohibited through the end of March include religious services, sporting events, parades, concerts, festivals and fundraisers. The decisions that we’re making today and the decisions we probably will be making in the upcoming days are going to be profoundly disturbing to a lot of the ways we live our lives today,” he added. “This is an extremely dangerous event that we are facing, but we are not helpless,” Inslee said at a press conference. Jay Inslee (D) banned events of more than 250 people in three counties on Wednesday but noted more restrictions could be implemented if the coronavirus continues to spread.
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