Governor Inslee Announces Phases For Lifting Restrictions

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) – Washington Gov. Jay Inslee says he is extending the state’s coronavirus stay-at-home order through at least May 31 and that he will ease the restrictions in four stages, starting with allowing retail curbside pickup, automobile sales and car washes by mid-May.

There will be a minimum of three weeks between each phase, though he said  some counties with lower numbers of cases and deaths may be able to open parts of their economy sooner if approved by the Department of Health.

Washington saw the nation’s first confirmed COVID-19 case in January, as well as the first deadly cluster, at a Seattle-area nursing home.

Inslee in March was among the first governors to order sweeping social distancing restrictions.