April 14, 2020 3:30 a.m.
On Monday, Oregon Governor Kate Brown, Washington Governor Jay Inslee, and California Governor Gavin Newsome announced an agreement on a shared vision for reopening their economies and controlling COVID-19 into the future.
Their joint statement said in the coming weeks, the west coast will “flip the script on COVID-19”. It said the states would act in close coordination and collaboration to ensure the virus can never “spread wildly in our communities”.
The release said while each state will build a state specific plan, the 3 states have agreed to some principals as they “build out a West Coast framework”:
*Residents health comes first. As home to one in six Americans, and the gateway to the rest of the world, the west cost has an outsized stake in controlling and ultimately defeating COVID-19.
*Health outcomes and science – not politics – will guide the decisions made. Modifications to stay at home orders must be made by understanding the total health impacts of COVID-19.
*The states will only be effective by working together. Each state will work with local leaders and communities to understand what’s happening on the ground and adhere to an agreed upon approach.
The release said public health leaders will focus on four goals that will be critical for controlling the virus in the future:
*Protecting vulnerable populations at risk for disease if infected.
*Ensuring an ability to care for those who may become sick with COVID-19 and other conditions.
*Mitigating the non-direct COVID-19 health impacts, particularly on disadvantaged communities.
*Protecting the general public by ensuring any successful lifting of interventions includes the development of a system for testing, tracking and isolating.
The release said in the coming days the governors, their staff and health officials will continue conversations about the regional pact to recovery.