Washington needs $100 million to respond to coronavirus outbreak, Health Secretary says

The Washington state Health Department on Monday asked the Legislature for $100 million to respond to the coronavirus outbreak.

“We want to mount a response that is the right response for Washington and one where I am not worried about, ‘do I have the money to actually mount the response that we need?’” said state Secretary of Health John Wiesman.

The health department’s request came as public health officials announced that the number of COVID-19 cases has reached 18, including five deaths in King County and one in Snohomish County.

The state is working with public schools on how to prepare if closings are needed throughout the state. Options could include home-schooling or internet instruction, Wiesman said.

“We are very conscious of the folks who are hurt most by these things. So school closures, we have a lot of children who rely on breakfast and lunch at our schools and what does that do to their nutrition. These are not easy decisions to make,” he said.

Wiesman said the state public health laboratory began testing for coronavirus last Friday and has the ability to test about 100 patients per day.

“The good news here is that we are able to get results now essentially in one day. That’s incredibly important and helpful as we do our outbreak investigations so we can have the quickest information about what the situation is,” he said.

A move by the Food and Drug Administration has freed up the ability of research laboratories and companies to handle tests, enabling the nation to potentially do 1 million tests within a week and then up to 5 million, Wiesman said.

As of Sunday, the state already had spent $2.3 million responding to the outbreak. There are 100 to 150 state health department employees working on the state’s response.

So far, Public Health-Seattle & King County and the Snohomish Health District have spent about $1.2 million.

In January, a man in Washington became the first confirmed case in the United States of COVID-19. Wiesman said the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had employees in Washington within 20 hours to work with state and local public health employees.

There are 231 people under public health supervision, including those who traveled from countries where the coronavirus was first present, Wiesman told members of the Senate Ways & Means Committee.

He reminded people to frequently wash their hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom, before eating, and after they blow their nose.

“You know folks, this time we really mean it, “ Wiesman said. “Like washing your hands – 20 seconds, singing the happy birthday song twice. I’ve caught myself these last number of days saying, ‘Slow down. I know I’m supposed to be in this hearing, but I’ve got to take the time to wash my hands and not just do the quick rinse under the water.’ ”

State Sen. Christine Rolfes, chairperson of the budget-writing Ways & Means Committee, said she requested the work session so that lawmakers are flexible about the state budget as the session approaches its final week. The 60-day session ends March 12.

“We want to make sure we leave Olympia with the resources we need should this become a very serious pandemic,” she said.

This story was originally published March 2, 2020 at 12:26 PM with the headline "Washington needs $100 million to respond to coronavirus outbreak, Health Secretary says."