5 takeaways from the Governor’s briefing with city and county leaders

On July 20, AWC hosted a webinar briefing on COVID-19 with Governor Inslee, Secretary Wiesman, State Health Officer Dr. Lofy, and city and county leaders from around the state. Secretary Wiesman and representatives from the Institute for Disease Modeling (IDM) provided an overview of our state’s data on cases, testing, hospitalizations, and infection rates. View the slides.

Read these five quick takeaways:

1. Right now, there is widespread community transmission of the virus. It isn’t limited to just a few hotspots like workplaces, long-term care facilities, and certain industries like food-processing. Hotspots still occur, but general community transmission is what is driving numbers. In particular, social gatherings can spread the disease quickly.
2. Masks make a difference in controlling disease spread and mask usage is going up. Yakima is a good example of local leadership stepping up to encourage mask usage to lower their infection rate.
3. Washington’s infection rate is about 1.5 (every person infected spreads it to 1.5 other people) which leads to exponential disease spread. We need the infection rate below 1 to really flatten the curve.
4. “Don’t turn a blind eye to unsafe practices.” Education is an effective way to gain compliance with the Safe Start requirements – have conversations with people and businesses about the need to comply with restrictions on gatherings and the need to wear masks.
5. Monitor local health department data. Engage with and support local health officials' efforts on tracking data, enforcement efforts, and contact tracing. If you feel that your county needs to reassess your phase of reopening, reach out to the DOH for help.

Governor Inslee thanked local leaders for their efforts and their leadership. He recognized that local leaders are closest to their communities and are some of the most credible voices in making a change. The Governor stressed the need to increase public awareness and participation in the state’s Safe Start plan because it will help to avoid dialing back phased reopenings. He acknowledged that there are lots of worries about the economic impact on local businesses, people, and city budgets, but reminded everyone that we need to continue working together to flatten the curve down so we can safely reopen.