Washington Governor Jay Inslee on Wednesday banned gatherings of over 250 people in the Seattle area, said he may soon close schools and did not rule out eventual lockdowns to stop the state’s coronavirus epidemic turning into a “humanitarian disaster.”
The greater-Seattle area is suffering the United States’ deadliest coronavirus outbreak, and the ban on gatherings targeted sports, concerts, worship services and other events in King, Snohomish and Pierce Counties.
“We’re going to fight this epidemic as much as we can and the reason is we don’t want to see an avalanche of people coming into our hospitals with limited capacity,” Inslee told a press conference, adding that the health system may need to provide critical care for thousands of coronavirus patients in the months ahead.
Washington state has reported over a quarter of the more than 1,000 U.S. coronavirus cases and nearly all the 28 deaths, putting pressure on Inslee to take aggressive action to prevent rates of spread like those seen in Wuhan, China or Italy.
Asked whether he would consider lockdowns, Inslee said he was trying everything he could to avoid them but did not rule them out.
“Can you eliminate these things from possibility? Of course not, you can’t,” Inslee said.
‘EQUIVALENT OF A MAJOR EARTHQUAKE’
The Democratic governor, who has clashed with President Donald Trump over his coronavirus response, faces growing pressure from parents and health experts to close all schools.
Inslee said he asked all school districts in the state to make contingency plans for possible closures within the next several days.
The move followed New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s decision on Tuesday to close schools, houses of worship and large gatherings in part of New York City suburb New Rochelle to counter an outbreak.
The Washington ban on gatherings, such as the opening game of the Seattle Mariners, is set to last through March and was likely to be extended, Inslee said, adding that the state had “legal means” to enforce the restrictions.
“Temporarily banning social and recreational gatherings will help ensure a health crisis does not become a humanitarian disaster,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine.
Schools should be prepared to close for weeks or months, said Jeffrey Duchin, health officer for Seattle and King County.
“We expect a large scale outbreak in weeks,” said Duchin, adding that it would be “the infectious disease equivalent of a major earthquake.”
(Reporting By Deborah Bloom in Seattle, additional reporting and writing by Andrew Hay in New Mexico; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)