Waiver extensions granted until December 7th amid a steep rise in COVID-19 cases

In a press conference yesterday, November 10th, health officials in Washington issued a strong warning to Washingtonians on the increasing prevalence of COVID-19. The main message of the briefing was that the officials considered “any in-person gathering” to be a risk, and unless more people don masks and maintain physical distance, Washington will soon see an increase in hospitalizations and deaths due to the coronavirus.

According a Seattle Times article on the press conference, officials warned that “a lockdown like we saw in the spring isn’t off the table,” if the transmission rates do not tick down in the next few weeks. Health officials, including Dr. Kathy Lofy (whom ports heard from in the summer), stated that a lockdown wasn’t the preferred option, saying “we don’t want to take action that will further damage our economy.”

It is in this context that legislative leaders and the Governor’s Office have issued a waiver extension for the OPMA and PRA until December 7th. Specifically, the waiver on the OPMA has updated guidance in in-person meeting requirements.

It’s important to retain a flexible attitude when approaching the way we work and gather as the pandemic grinds on, and an increase in cases may mean we need to adapt our approaches as ports. WPPA remains committed to bringing you the latest developments affecting port operations, as they happen.