WA Gov. Inslee among final few to end COVID state of emergency. He should share his plans
Oregon will officially end its COVID state of emergency on Friday, April 1, and Idaho will follow suit on April 15.
That leaves Washington state among only a few in the country that will continue on in an emergency status until further notice — the other two are West Virginia and Nevada.
Lawmakers in the rest of the U.S. have either already rescinded their states’ emergency status or they have announced a plan or a date for when that will happen, according to the National Academy for State Health Policy.
Gov. Jay Inslee would be wise to take note, and explain when he might stop his sole COVID emergency powers, or at the very least, outline what goals must be met in order for that to happen.
While state governors must be able to invoke emergency powers during a crisis, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said that those powers “cannot — and should not — go on forever.”
She also said that those powers “must be used carefully and sparingly, and only when absolutely necessary, as they temporarily alter the normal balance of power.”
Well said.
And that’s why she’s ending Oregon’s state of emergency on Friday. Brown appears to understand that a lopsided power structure must be set right as soon as possible.
Inslee, on the other hand, has been keen to keep his COVID superpowers unchecked, and Washington state’s Democratic-led legislature has allowed it.
Efforts to rein in the governor’s emergency powers have failed so far during the past two legislative sessions. This, despite a record number of citizens who weighed in on legislation that would have set some limits.
Before the Tri-City Herald editorial on Senate Bill 5909 was published last January, only 12 people had signed up to testify. After the editorial, that number climbed to over 140 and nearly 5,400 people submitted a position on the bill, which set a new Senate record.
On the House side, over 5,300 people submitted a position on House Bill 1772, which would have automatically ended the governor’s emergency powers after 60 days.
Unfortunately, the majority of lawmakers dismissed the outcry and neither bill made it through.
So here we are, now going on two years living with the pandemic and not knowing from news conference to news conference what might be ahead.
Ever since Washington’s indoor mask mandate was lifted a few weeks ago, life has felt close to pre-pandemic times, raising many people’s spirits.
The latest report is that COVID-19 cases in Washington state appear to be on a slightly downward trend. However, earlier this week it was reported that Franklin County recently saw a 105% increase, or more than doubling, of confirmed cases , according to data from the Benton Franklin Health District.
And even though Benton County saw a decrease of 24% in new cases, that still put the bi-county area up 53% compared to a week earlier.
Fortunately, just under 2% of the hospital beds in Richland, Kennewick, Pasco and Prosser hospitals were used by people being treated primarily for COVID-19, according to the most recent data compiled by the Washington state Department of Health.
While the hospital statistics are encouraging, we know COVID is not going away and that we all must do our part to keep ourselves and others safe. The more people who are vaccinated against the disease, the better.
Even if you get COVID after getting your shots, the likelihood of ending up in the hospital is greatly reduced.
As state health officials continue to monitor COVID-19, it would be helpful if Inslee laid out milestones to be met that would lead to an end of Washington’s state of emergency. Perhaps it would encourage people to take more care.
But keeping the end date vague and indefinite when the vast majority of governors have rescinded their powers doesn’t look good. Inslee should take Brown’s words to heart and realize his sole grip over the COVID pandemic is not meant to last forever.