SPOKANE, Wash. — After an address from Gov. Jay Inslee outlining Washington state's recovery plan, leaders in Spokane County continue to advocate for a different reopening timeline in eastern Washington.
“We are looking for more clarity and looking forward to more clarity from our governor on what his plan is to open up our economy," said Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward at a briefing on Wednesday morning. "I think a lot of people in Spokane County still feel frustrated. We’ve got now three paycheck periods that people have missed.”
Inslee's statewide stay-home order aimed at curbing the spread of coronavirus is set to expire on May 4. He said on Tuesday night that the state will not be able to lift most of the restrictions by that date.
Inslee added that the economy will reopen gradually, and not all at once.
“It will look more like the turning of a dial than the flipping of a switch,” Inslee said.
Woodward reiterated her desire for a regional reopening before the state opens as a whole, adding that she is working Spokane County commissioners and other mayors in the county.
“We feel that we are in a position where we can be more flexible in how we open up our economy in Spokane especially," Woodward said, adding that small businesses are the "bloodline" of Spokane's workforce.
The reopening plan for eastern Washington would be based on universal criteria and occur in phases, Woodward said.
Woodward also noted that health officials in Spokane County have reported only single-digit increases in coronavirus cases for more than a week.
“We don’t want to see any increase, but we feel like that curve has been flattening, we’ve been leveling off, and we are in a good place to start having the discussion of what it looks like to open up our businesses again," she added.
State officials were resistant to the idea of a regional reopening on Tuesday. On a call with reporters, leaders including Inslee's Chief of Staff David Postman and State Health Officer Kathy Lofy explained that regional re-openings could cause new surges of the virus thanks to travel.
They also pointed out some smaller towns have already struggled with an influx of people fleeing larger cities in Washington to go to vacation homes. There's concern that there could be excessive migration or tourism to those places if some areas reopened early.
Spokane County Commissioner Al French echoed Woodward on Wednesday, saying residents and local leaders alike are frustrated.
“The good news out of the governor’s address last night is that we’re now starting to finally have a conversation about what this recovery will look like. The bad news is that there was not much detail," French said.
French added that measuring eastern Washington based on data from the Puget Sound region is unfair to the region and its residents.
“One of the things that all of the elected officials on this side of the state have been trying to communicate to the governor is that we are not the Puget Sound," he said.
As of Wednesday morning, 317 people have been diagnosed with coronavirus in Spokane County and 14 remain hospitalized.
More than 680 people have died among more 12,282 cases in Washington state as a whole.
