"For 14 months, we’ve been locked in a global pandemic that has required each of us to make sacrifices. Businesses have closed, hundreds of thousands of children have missed months of school, and hundreds of thousands of Washingtonians have lost their livelihoods to keep each other safe.
Now, we have several safe and effective vaccines that are widely available, and everyone in our state age 16 and over has had ample time to access the vaccine for free.
Recognizing this, 48 states have announced plans to reopen this summer, yet Washington still has no plan to move forward. It’s time: We are ready to reopen June 15 and are asking the Governor to recognize this and prepare a plan.
The 48 states, including California, New York, New Jersey, and Michigan, recognize that it’s not only safe to reopen now, but that the negative consequences of shutdowns now outweigh the benefits.
Washington’s current plan only moves in one direction: Backward, with rollbacks on businesses in an attempt to reduce the spread of COVID. These shutdowns have not previously worked to reduce COVID cases, but have damaged businesses, families, and individuals’ ability to move forward with their lives tremendously.
Let’s join the vast majority of the United States and create a safe plan to reopen that our state can all unite behind."