- Olympia, WA
Governor Inslee and First Lady Trudy Inslee will directly adress all of Washington at 5:30pm tonight November 12th in regards to a steep increase in COVID-19 cases across the entire state.
Amid speculation, Inslee's office says he will not announce new COVID-19 restrictions. However, new restrictions are "actively under consideration," according to information released ahead of Inslee's address. The governor will announce as early as Nov. 16 his decisions on next steps.
"The governor’s staff have been reaching out to stakeholders in various sectors and industries for their input on proposals to restrict activities," information from Inslee's office states. "As with previous restrictions, the goal is to reduce how often people are likely to come into contact with people from outside their household, limiting the spread, and preventing our health care system from being overwhelmed."
Inslee will tell people they should change their Thanksgiving plans now, as well as "all other gatherings," and holiday travel. Inslee will not take questions after his Thursday address.
Inslee's address comes just a few days after State Health Officer Dr. Kathy Lofy advised people to stop socializing to reduce the number of COVID-19 infections and avoid an economic shutdown. She said cases are rising among all age groups, indicating that transmission is widespread.
“Accelerated growth in (COVID-19) cases in past two weeks… at this point in time, it's the highest number of cases we’ve ever had, and our case count is accelerating," Lofy said.
Health officials are worried that the Thanksgiving holiday will create a bigger spike in coronavirus cases. Washington broke two records for the highest daily case count recently, according to data from the Washington State Department of Health. On Nov. 3, Washington saw 1,446 new COVID-19 cases, and on Nov. 5, Washington reported 1,699 new cases. Another 1,450 new cases were reported on Nov. 9.
MLWA 7 News will carry the broadcasting on our website on our main page and live tab as well as our Facebook page
Article by: MLWA 7 News / TEGNA SEA KING 5
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