By Pat Grubb
In a televised address at 5:30 p.m. today, Washington state Governor Jay Inslee imposed a stay at home order in Washington state that goes into effect immediately. The order bans all gatherings of people for social, spiritual or recreational purposes as well as shuts down all companies considered non-essential. Companies must shut down within 48 hours. Weddings and funerals will not be allowed.
Services deemed essential include health and emergency caregivers, grocery and food stores, transportation and trucking, food and agricultural services and media organizations, among others. Restaurants can continue to provide takeout and delivery services. The order will be in effect for two weeks.
Inslee said the order "builds on other unprecedented steps" and that the government had been "thoughtful and deliberate" in the measures taken so far. However, he continued, he was aware that "people still aren't taking the necessary steps to distance themselves which is the only solution we have."
"This is a very difficult choice. We want to get back to normal and the fastest way to do this is to hit it hard," he said. He warned people not to make a run on the grocery store to overstock; there were more than sufficient supplies for everyone otherwise.
To date, there have been 2,221 COVID-19 cases and 110 deaths in Washington state.
Inslee concluded by quoting from Walt Whitman's Song of Myself,
"Be of good cheer, we will not desert you."
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