As the first major American hub for COVID-19, the state of Washington found itself as the center of attention for the early pandemic response, according to an article in The Seattle News. Working from the State Emergency Operations Center, a combination of state and federal organizations has spent their efforts in coordinating a response to help both reduce the rate of growth in cases, and to ensure the proper medical supplies are available to the state’s hospitals and medical workers.
Robert Ezelle, director of the Washington Military Department’s Emergency Management Division, told The Seattle News, “I don’t want to say that I’m being a pessimist, but I’m assuming the worst case. And I think that we have to do that, until we get firm numbers that show us that we’re not.”
To help work against that work case, the center is coordinating the actions of FEMA, DOH, DOT, National Guard, and State Patrol, among others, to gather and deploy needed medical supplies, including both gear and test kits. In parallel, requests have gone out to the federal level for additional supplies, with promises of additional ventilators and military field hospitals, to help take the stress off of local resources.
While recommendations have also been issued by the state to encourage social distancing, Ezelle notes the risk should people not listen to the advice or should it not work, stating “What keeps me up at night is knowing that we’re going to be dealing with a massive influx of patients.”
Sources:
