Almost two years to the day after the first case of the novel coronavirus in the U.S. was confirmed in Washington state, Gov. Jay Inslee testified before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis about how the state has responded and the lessons learned.

“We had the [nation’s] very first case on January 21st, 2020. We had our first death in America which was on February 29th. We started this with no template. We didn’t get to take ideas from Colorado or anywhere else. We were the first and we made some really early decisions that I think have served us well.

“Number one; we decided to follow science and the data and our public health experts, and to be very vocal against the profoundly malicious efforts to not spread the truth about this vaccine that have been so damaging. Number two, we made a valued decision that saving lives was our first priority and it should remain unwavering. Third, we made the decision that the best way we could possibly reopen our economy was to knock down the virus.

“Now the question is did those strategies work? They worked big time and I want to talk to you about that," Inslee said.

Read the rest of the story on the governor's Medium page.

Public and constituent inquiries | 360.902.4111 Press inquiries | 360.902.4136