COLUMN: Restarting Our Economy, Reopening Our Society
Washington is not a one-size-fits-all state. That can be said of our recreational activities, our professions, our political leanings, and our way of life across the diverse regions of our great state. So, a stay-at-home order should not be one-size-fits-all.
In Central Washington, our rural communities are physically more distant from others, providing us an advantage when it comes to implementing these safety recommendations from the state and federal governments. However, as I continue to meet with constituents remotely through telephone town halls, conference calls, and webinars, it is becoming increasingly clear: They don't feel it is fair or necessary to hold our smaller, rural communities to the same standards of large cities like Seattle.
There are certainly components of our state and of the 4th District that require more stringent safety measures to be taken. For example, long-term care facilities across Washington face increasingly high rates of COVID-19 due to high-risk populations in close quarters. Our healthcare workers at facilities with coronavirus patients rightly continue to take extreme precautions to protect the health of patients, family members, and themselves.
The health and safety of Central Washington is my top priority, which is why I am working to increase access to testing and critical protective equipment for health care providers. While there may be public health benefits to keeping everyone cooped up inside their homes, there are severe mental health consequences of keeping stay-at-home restrictions in place with no end in sight.
By looking at aspects of our economy and society, we can find areas that should reopen while continuing to follow strict public health guidelines.
Governor Inslee's "Stay Home, Stay Healthy" neglects several industries and activities that can and should be allowed to safely continue. The ban on residential construction, which is considered essential in a large majority of states with stay-at-home orders including Oregon and California, can be lifted to benefit not only the homebuilders who could earn a paycheck but also families in need of housing. Removing the ban on recreational activities, such as fishing and golfing, will provide an opportunity for many in Central Washington to get outdoors, remain socially distant, and relieve stress.
Local retailers deemed "essential" are taking precautions to comply with social distancing requirements, such as limiting the number of customers in a store and keeping lines for checkout spaced 6 feet apart. It is clear other retailers can utilize these same measures to ensure customers can safely shop, thus allowing for the reopening of these small businesses.
Making these changes could provide an immediate benefit the people of Washington and our state's economy.
Congress is working to create a bridge for American families, workers, and small business owners to get us to the other side of this virus outbreak, but there is simply not enough money or resources to sustain our country's entire economy indefinitely. Americans – and the people of Central Washington – want to get back to work.
I understand it is difficult, if not impossible, to predict when this pandemic will end and when we can return to our normal lives. But that doesn't mean we can't start planning for it.
President Trump understands that Americans are looking for answers, and he has charged our governors with creating individual plans to reopen each states' economy. Our social distancing and preventative safety measures are working to "flatten the curve" of the coronavirus outbreak, and there are ways we can continue to implement these precautions while providing relief to business owners, workers, and self-employed individuals who are currently going without a source of income.
I have and will continue to assure the people of Central Washington that we will get through this outbreak together. As we weather this storm, we deserve a pathway forward, with a plan to restart our economy and reopen our society.