A proposal from Republicans in the state Senate for reopening Washington’s economy has some worthy ideas, but also some backward priorities.
While the Safe Economic Restart Plan reflects our shared frustration with continued business closures, it is bereft of the most important aspect — coordination with public health experts. Guidelines designed to limit a second surge of coronavirus infections must be the top priority of any plan to restart the economy. A premature opening would endanger workers, along with their families and customers.
Gov. Jay Inslee has said that 14 consecutive days of declining infection rates is one of the primary metrics he is seeking before allowing businesses to reopen. That, along with other benchmarks, echoes the advice of virologists and is crucial to ensuring that when Washingtonians return to work, they can do so safely while adhering to social distancing measures.
While the Republican proposal is somewhat premature, it does recommend some thoughtful provisions that warrant consideration.
Most important is the idea that specific sectors of the economy can reopen with guidelines specific to their needs. “As it turns out, it’s really bad business to put your employees and your customers in a dangerous and risky situation,” Sen. Ann Rivers, R-La Center, said last week during a virtual meeting with The Columbian’s Editorial Board. “They’re mindful about safe ways to operate their business.”
Indeed, business operators will be eager to keep workers and patrons safe. The guidelines for, say, a restaurant will be different from those for a car dealership. The Safe Economic Restart Plan specifically mentions contractors, florists and accountants in a list of industries that could safely reopen.
On the other hand, it also mentions hairstylists and dentists — businesses that inherently require close contact with customers. While we can empathize with the economic hardships of hairstylists, dentists and other close-contact providers, public health concerns dictate that those businesses remain closed until the pandemic is in check.
Gov. Inslee last week reopened some private construction. At the same time, he wrote: “We will not lift measures until health experts and data say it’s safe to do so. Let me be clear: we are nowhere near ready to reopen broadly.”
When that time comes, it will be essential to have specific guidelines for various industries. “We need to stop talking about ‘essential’ and ‘nonessential’ businesses,” Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, said. Indeed; soon we should be talking about “safe” and “not safe” instead of embracing a broad reopening.
Meanwhile, it also will be essential to have an enforcement mechanism to ensure that guidelines are being followed. Rivers said: “Don’t forget the role of the customer and personal accountability. People will be reporting frightening things that they’re seeing to the health department.” We wish that were enough to keep the virus in check; it’s not.
The Republican proposal also recommends a series of tax breaks for businesses that have been hampered by the shutdown. These warrant consideration; keeping businesses open and keeping people employed will be essential for a quick economic recovery.
But any recovery could quickly be scuttled by a spike in coronavirus cases. Reopening businesses irresponsibly would diminish the gains that have been made in mitigating the disease. Because of that, we must put public health before the economy, recognizing that with appropriate planning, the two concerns can coexist.
