Inslee to address state tonight

Gov. Jay Inslee will address state residents in a live television broadcast this evening.

The address, scheduled for 5:30 p.m. will be live streamed on TVW, the state’s government affairs channel, and available to commercial stations.

The subject of the address has not been released, but Washington was the first state to report a case of COVID-19, and is one of the three states for which President Donald Trump has approved federal money to be used if the National Guard is activated to help fight the virus. The U.S. military is sending mobile medical units to the state to handle patients that can be moved out of hospitals to make space for virus patients.

Although the state’s public and private schools and universities were closed earlier this month and large gatherings banned, Inslee has resisted issuing a statewide stay-at-home order. Last Friday he said he was waiting to see how the voluntary guidance was working to help slow the spread of COVID-19.

On Monday, The Boeing Co., said it would shut down operations in the Pacific Northwest to protect employees. Inslee praised the company’s decision to implement an orderly shutdown and continue to pay its workers.

“Now is a time for bold actions like these, and we will continue to look at what can be done statewide,” he said in a news release.

This story is developing and will be updated.