Inslee: 'Low-risk' construction will resume in Washington with tight safety requirements

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Gov. Jay Inslee has announced the first limited reopening of Washington's economy, a resumption of building construction with strict safety precautions, including social distancing, face masks, and constant efforts to keep equipment clean.

"It's going to be a good template as we move forward," Inslee told an Olympia news conference on Friday. "We need to start on a low risk basis."

The Governor said no "final decision" has been made on lifting restrictions on outdoor recreation, or a policy to resume elective surgery at the state's hospitals. "We hope to say something on that in the next few days," Inslee said.

Inslee was adamant, however, that there will be no broad-scale "flip of the switch" resumption of work in Washington. "If we did this today, the virus would return with a vengeance," said Inslee. The COVID-19 pandmic has killed more than 700 people in Washington, with 12,753 confirmed cases.

Rules for resumption of construction were worked out by a business-labor task force, consisting of a group that agree on many issues. "We all agreed that safety was the highest priority," said Greg Lake of the Building Industry Association of Washington.

"It's our job to do it right," added Mark Riker of the Washington State Building & Construction Trades Council.

The novel coronavirus hit early in Washington state. Inslee used his emergency powers to shut down much of Washington's economy more than a month ago. Had he not acted, the Governor argued Friday, the virus "would have killed many more Washingtonians."

"The people are with this effort and I'm with the people," said Inslee, a dropout from the 2020 Democratic presidential contest who is seeking a third term this November.

The Crosscut/Elway poll, released Friday, indicates he's right. Seventy-six percent of those polled agreed that restrictions and precautions are working to control the spread of the virus. Sixty-one percent, in the statewide survey, were more concerned about lifting restrictions too early and risking public health, than waiting too long with damage to the economy.

Republican leaders in the Legislature endorsed Inslee's initial shutdown order. Lately, however, they have clamored for a restart to construction, and a more cooperative approach in resuming economic activity across Washington.

House Minority Leader J.T. Wilcox has affirmed Inslee's right to use emergency powers, but called on the Governor to adopt a more collaborative approach as the state reopens for business.

"There's been a lot of confusion about the extension of some of the Governor's proclamations: No one in the Legislature signed an extension of the Stay-Home order," Wilcox posted before Inslee's announcement.

"The Governor doesn't need legislative approval for that according to laws dating back to 1969. We have approved extensions that suspend regulations like due dates for some taxes and visitation to nursing homes."

The COVID-19 pandemic hit first in the Puget Sound region. It has, however, spread to additional "hot spots," notably in Central Washington and with employees in meat packing plants.

There were conflicting signs out of Eastern Washington, where county commissioners have bloviated about unilaterally reopening their communities, and county sheriffs have talked about not enforcing Inslee's order ... even as the novel coronavirus has spread in their jurisdictions.

In Ferry County, where commissioners have talked about unilaterally reopening, sponsors have canceled the annual Get Out Festival."We've decided that putting on a destination festival is just not viable this year, and not what we all need right now," they announced. "On top of that, we're all about safety first for our volunteers and community."

Walla Walla County Sheriff Mark Crider wrote to local county commissioners on Thursday, urging them to "figure out how to get our county economy running again."

But the COVID-19 pandemic has just shut down one big employer in the county. The Tyson Fresh Foods packing plant in Wallula, which employs 1,400 people, has temporarily halted operations while employees are tested for the coronavirus.  More than 100 workers have contracted COVID-19 and one has died.

Tyson has "worked with the local health department on more mitigation efforts and have accommodated all its recommendations for protective measures, which exceeded the CDC guidelines," Steve Stouffer, group president of Tyson, said in a statement.

"Despite these efforts, the combination of worker absenteeism, COVID-19 cases and community concerns has resulted in a collective decision to close and test all team members.""

A petition has circulated with over 3,000 signatures calling for the plant to be closed for 14 days to allow workers to self-quarantine before they go back to work.

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