COVID-19: Governor Inslee Extends Stay-At-Home Orders Through May 31

OLYMPIA — Governor Jay Inslee announced Friday afternoon he is extending Washington’s stay-home order through May 31, but that he and state leaders are seeking ways for many businesses to open before then.

Inslee said Washington’s businesses would reopen in four phases, with some business sectors possibly opening back up before May 31. He said he would be allowing retail stores to do curbside pickup, as well as allow automobile sales and car washes resume business, with some COVID-19 restrictions. He also intends to allow drive-in church services at some point.

The current shelter-in-place order, initiated March 23, had been set to expire on May 4. Inslee had already extended the restrictions once as state officials tried to curb the COVID-19 outbreak, which has claimed more than 800 Washingtonians.

Inslee said earlier this week he wouldn’t yet lift the stay at home order, emphasizing that public health data — such as daily confirmed cases — while going down wasn’t acceptable levels to re-open society.

Faced with mounting pressure as the state economy tanks — one in 5 workers have filed for unemployment benefits — Inslee has opened up some parts of society including some construction projects, medical procedures, as well as state lands, fishing and hunting.

Demonstrators across the state are gathering today at county courthouses protesting the stay home orders on the grounds that they are unconstitutional and wreaking havoc on the economy.

The governor said on Wednesday he was tracking several metrics that formed the basis of his decisions, which include COVID-19 hospital admissions, fatalities, the percentage of people in the hospital with COVID-19 like symptoms and the percentage of people testing positive.