OLYMPIA, Wash. — On Tuesday, Governor Jay Inslee announced the creation of three different advisory groups to help his office make decisions as the state begins to reopen.
"These groups include a diverse group of voices from community leaders in labor, business, government, to nonprofit organizations," said Gov. Inslee.
The three advisory groups will focus on health systems and public health, social supports, and safe work and economic readiness.
The public health and health care system group will be led by Department of Health Secretary John Wiesman. The group will focus on broadening COVID-19 testing efforts and to prepare for vaccines.
The economic recovery group will be led by Department of Commerce Director Lisa Brown. The group will focus on phased recovery plans, and business and worker assistance.
The social supports group will be led by Department of Social and Health Services Secretary Cheryl Strange. The group will focus on food, safe shelter, housing, healthcare, and equity.
Each group will be tasked with getting community input and creating forums to inform Gov. Inslee's team. However, there is no set plan yet for how the community will be involved or how much influence the public will have.
"They’re going to make the decisions on the best way to collate information, and I'm sure they'll be successful at that," said Gov. Inslee.
Even with help, reopening the state won't be without challenges. The governor acknowledged that some issues, like homelessness, present before the COVID-19 pandemic were made more complicated by the virus. He's hoping the new advisory groups will provide some answers.
"One of the particular issues is isolation ability, too. For people who become [COVID-19] positive, we need them to isolate, and we have to make sure they have a place to isolate if they don't have a home," said Gov. Inslee.
Issues like homelessness and mental health will be focused on as part of the social support group.
The governor also mentioned that guidelines for reopening Phase 1 businesses, like auto sales and curbside retail, are being drafted. Gov. Inslee said we can expect to see those in the coming days.