The state of Washington is being looked to by many others and the Federal government for how we’ve been able to squash down on the curve of Coronavirus.  Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has been referencing our success at being able to prevent the big spike and continues to tout the efforts of West Coast states, mainly the Evergreen State, as getting what should be done, done!  So what have we done? 

Focusing on the science of the spread of pandemics Gov. Jay Inslee issued a Stay at Home order on March 23rd.  We Washingtonians listened and went home.  Seattle’s downtown core became a ghost town almost immediately.  Parks, beaches, and public gatherings were shuttered.  Our school districts kept children safe by sending them home, temporarily at first, to figure out the rest as we went along.  Conscientious business owners heeded the order and made accommodations for staff who could work from home to have what they needed to perform at a high level.  Businesses deemed essential were able to work with authorities to put health and safety protocols in place to keep employees and patrons safe.  Hospitals, where our medical staff put themselves at risk to care for our state’s sickest patients, have turned your pulmonologist, endocrinologist and psychologist, into front line COVID-19 superheroes to shore up its ranks and keep working to fight the further spread of the pandemic. In most cases, Washington state can return COVID-19 testing results within 5-8 hours, which helps with isolation much quicker than elsewhere.  

Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for other parts of the country.  Many people believe that COVID-19 won’t affect their health, but the fact remains that one can be an unwilling partner to the pandemic by being an asymptomatic carrier of the disease.  Even now, many states have gone on with business as usual or slowed down, but not stopped.  Therefore, people still gather, their numbers still climb and the impending spike in those states is still on the horizon.  

As a state, we’ve made many sacrifices and know there will be many changes to come in the months, or even years ahead.  Many Washingtonians have suffered greatly.  All too sadly, many families have lost loved ones.  Others have lost jobs and lifestyles.  We know that there will be long periods of learning how to look up again, to rebuild and to forge ahead.  One month after Gov. Inslee’s Stay at Home order was announced, Washingtonians have remained at home for the most part.  But the curve is not flat yet.  We must continue to do our part because we are not out of the woods yet.  Stay vigilant and keep working on kicking this COVID-19 curve to the curb!

Watch Downtown Seattle is Battling COVID-19 here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XlyPNyLhFs

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