On ending state's COVID-19 emergency

Gov. Jay Inslee’s COVID 19 emergency declaration expired Oct. 31, fading away 31 months after he first declared a statewide emergency Feb. 29, 2020. Recall his TV appearances through March as the coronavirus spread worldwide and Inslee moved to expand public health measures.

Reflect on the earliest dark days of the coronavirus pandemic when it was an unknown threat whose scourge seemed limitless. Increasingly, everything was shut down and we were all told to stay home. We locked ourselves up in our houses. Schools were shut, church services canceled, businesses closed. We gave each other a wide berth passing on the sidewalk, wore masks on the beach and in the woods, followed arrows on the floor in the grocery store and stood on circle decals marked six feet apart.

Into and during this chaos of fear, our six-foot-six-inch governor expanded to his full height. He marshaled good staff across agencies, leaning on the state health department and his executive team. One proclamation after another was issued and daily briefings and press conferences were the norm.

Aiming for health, using science and expecting normalcy, goals and plans were created. A caseload of 25 infections per 100,000 people was set as the metric allowing the reopening of the state. Stages to measure progress from staggering high numbers of infections were set, as if we could step down in an orderly way from this once-in-a-century plague.

Looking back over the months since March 2020, how well did Inslee lead? Exceedingly well. Objectively, exceedingly well. Washington ranks 47th of 52 in the nation in deaths from COVID-19 per 100,000 people (including Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia). Alaska, Puerto Rico, Utah, Hawaii and Vermont, the states and territories below us, have small populations and wide open spaces: .

Washington outperforms all higher population states in keeping its residents alive. Our state’s population is 7.8 million. We are struggling with 191 deaths per 100,000 people. California is the only large population state that comes close to protecting its population, ranked 39th, with 245 deaths per 100,000 people. The vilified blue state governors fulfilled their oaths and protected their populations.

No one was purposefully or rhetorically sacrificed on the altar of political ideology or for partisan gain.

Tragically, 14,530 people have died from COVID-19 in Washington since 2020.

Our circles of parents, grandparents, neighbors and coworkers who are alive can in large measure thank Inslee and state government staff that the pain, suffering and, yes, death, was not worse.

In a time when society on every level is splintering into factions and too many people are elevating their heartfelt beliefs into facts they expect the community to follow, it is impossible to find widespread agreement that an elected official succeeded at working for the good of all.

In this time of insanity, the cliche the facts don’t lie is, sadly, a quaint phrase falling on too many deaf ears. Yet for the too long dark period of a pandemic that is not over, political leaders and healthcare professionals in the state of Washington have shepherded its population closer to health, if not sanity, better than any larger populated state.

In the old days people would be carrying the governor around on their shoulders. Thank you cards mailed with a stamp are nearly a past relic. Take the time to email the governor or go to his office’s website and attach an emoji heart and a thumbs up to express a heartfelt job well done, for that is a true fact.

Thank you, Gov. Inslee for your steadfast leadership through the still-not-over coronavirus pandemic.