Snohomish County sheriff won't enforce stay-at-home order

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The sheriff of Washington state’s third largest county says he won’t enforce Gov. Jay Inslee’s stay-at-home order to slow the spread of the coronavirus, saying it violates people’s constitutional rights.

Snohomish County Sheriff Adam Fortney announced his position on Facebook Tuesday night, following a statewide address by Inslee in which the governor said the state will not be able to lift many of the stay-at-home restrictions implemented to fight the coronavirus by May 4. That's the date through which the current directive is currently in place — but Inslee hopes health modeling in the coming days will allow resumption of some activities.

Inslee said a return to public life will take a series of steps and that until several markers are met — including adequate testing and a vaccine — preventing an increase in new cases is the main priority. And he announced a plan to have about 1,500 workers focused solely on contact tracing in place by the second week of May.

Inslee said the the state health officer believes the spread of COVID-19 is likely declining in Washington state, based on data on hospitalizations, confirmed cases and deaths, but he still urged caution.

“The data tell us that if we were to lift all restrictions right now – or even two weeks from now – this decline would almost certainly stop and the spread of COVID-19 would go up,” he said, adding that "to turn back on this successful temporary approach now would be disastrous.”

There have been mounting calls for Inslee to ease the state’s stay-at-home order, and a weekend protest drew about 2,500 to Olympia. Fortney, the Snohomish County sheriff, joins Franklin County in eastern Washington where the sheriff and local officials say they will not enforce Inslee's directive.

Snohomish County, which has about 800,000 residents, is part of the Seattle metro area. It has been particularly hard hit by COVID-19, with more than 2,100 confirmed cases and at least 99 deaths - the second-highest county fatality total in Washington. So far Washington has more than 12,280 confirmed cases and at least 682 deaths.

Fortney acknowledged the seriousness of the virus outbreak, writing that “appropriate precautions need to be taken to protect our most vulnerable populations..”

But he said “the impacts of COVID 19 no longer warrant the suspension of our constitutional rights.”

David Postman, Inslee’s chief of staff, said Tuesday night that local officials don’t have the legal right to ignore stay-at-home orders.

“Local governments can be stricter than the state if they choose, they can’t be looser,” he said. “The law doesn’t allow it. The order is clearly rooted in statute and constitutional authority, and a county governing body does not have the right, the legal authority in any way, to take a vote and deem something unconstitutional. That’s a role for the courts.”

Inslee said Tuesday if the recent modeling held up, he believed some elective surgeries could soon be allowed to resume. And he also hoped people could resume taking part in outdoor recreation.

The governor also said that he hopes to soon implement a plan that would allow a limited return to residential construction. Postman, said that it was possible those activities mentioned by the governor could resume before May 5.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.