State Supreme Court nixes suit seeking additional release of prisoners due to coronavirus threat
The Washington Supreme Court on Thursday swiftly rejected a lawsuit seeking to force Gov. Jay Inslee to order the release of thousands of people from Washington prisons to protect them from potential exposure to the coronavirus.
In a 5-4 decision, a court majority found the emergency petition by Columbia Legal Services had not proved the state is failing in its duties to incarcerated people.
The court’s order, signed by Chief Justice Debra Stephens, said, “on the record presented, the Petitioners have not shown the Respondents’ actions constitute deliberate indifference to the COVID-19 risk at the Department of Corrections facilities…”
The decision is not expected to affect the ongoing early release of hundreds of people from Department of Corrections (DOC) custody through commutations and other measures authorized by Inslee earlier this month, after the court ordered the governor to take “all necessary steps” to protect people in prisons from the virus. It just means the state will not be compelled to vastly increase those numbers.
Four justices, in a dissent led by Justice Steven Gonzalez, said they would have granted Columbia Legal Services’ request for a writ to compel potential further action by the DOC. While not suggesting a wholesale release of additional inmates, the dissent said the court could have continued to monitor the situation in prisons and required the state to report back in two weeks.
— The Seattle Times
‘Under no circumstance’: Makers of Lysol issue warning following Trump’s statements
The maker of Lysol has a message for the U.S.: Do not try President Donald Trump’s latest miracle coronavirus cure at home.
Or anywhere else.
Lysol’s manufacturer issued a statement Friday warning customers against injecting or swallowing disinfectant after Trump suggested that could be a promising treatment for the deadly virus.
“Under no circumstance should our disinfectant products be administered into the human body,” said Lysol-maker Reckitt Benckiser in a corporate statement.
The White House was forced Friday to stress that Trump encourages Americans to talk to their doctor before doing anything rash like drinking bleach to ward off coronavirus.
“Leave it to the media to irresponsibly take President Trump out of context and run with negative headlines,” Kayleigh McEnany, the newly minted White House press secretary, said in a sharply worded statement.
The grim warning came hours after Trump made perhaps his most bizarre — and dangerous — suggestion yet in his seemingly endless hunt for a miracle treatment for coronavirus.
To the shock of health officials attending his daily pandemic press conference, Trump asked if it might be worth investigating the potential benefits of somehow getting virus-killing disinfectant into the bodies of coronavirus patients.
“Is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning? Because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs,” Trump said. “So it would be interesting to check that out.”
Trump also mused that there should be a way of taking advantage of the fact that studies show direct sunlight can kill the virus.
“I would like you to speak to the medical doctors to see if there’s any way that you can apply light and heat to cure, you know, if you could,” Trump instructed Dr. Deborah Birx during the press conference.
“Not as a treatment,” Birx responded.
— New York Daily News
Washington unemployment claims drop to 82,400 in week of ‘calm before the storm’
Washington residents continued filing unemployment claims last week by the tens of thousands as the state’s employers moved to reduce their payrolls to meet the economic realities created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Laid-off workers in Washington filed 82,435 new jobless claims last week, but state officials warned it could be “the calm before the storm” as they anticipate processing close to 1 million new claims beginning next week.
The number of new claims filed April 12-18 was a decrease of 42% from a week prior, bringing the total number of claims filed in the state to 605,514 since the pandemic began to hit nation’s economy, according to the Washington State Employment Security Department.
“It is hard to imagine that the fifth-highest week of claims in Washington state history could be considered the calm before the storm, but that is certainly what we saw last week,” Suzi LeVine, employment security commissioner, said in a statement.
In data released by the state Thursday, the greatest number of unemployment benefit applications statewide were from retail trade workers, who filed 9,485 new claims. Health care and social assistance workers filed 9,134 new claims., and manufacturing workers filed 8,335.
Only one sector — management of companies and enterprises — posted a gain in new claims with 214 applications filed last week, representing a 69% increase from a week prior, according to the department.
Although initial unemployment claims for April 12-18 were among the most on record, that total does not reflect benefit applications resulting from expansion of eligibility under the federal CARES Act, LeVine said.
— The Spokesman-Review
After 100 virus cases and 1 death, Tyson plant in southeastern Washington closes
WALLULA — Cars and trucks streamed out of the Tyson Fresh Meats beef processing facility parking lot on Thursday, as employees finished their second-to-last shift before the company temporarily stops production.
The closure comes after more than 100 workers contracted COVID-19 over the past few weeks, and one worker died from the virus on Wednesday.
During the hiatus, which started Friday, county health staff will test more than 1,400 Tyson employees at the plant.
Plant officials did not provide masks to workers until about April 13 and did not implement other social distancing strategies until last week, after 47 cases were traced to the facility on April 16. At the time, the county health department did not recommend the plant close.
Since then, the virus has continued to spread, with more than 50 additional employees testing positive since the outbreak was first identified.
Steve Stouffer, group president of Tyson Fresh Meats, said in a news release that the plant has “worked with the local health department on more mitigation efforts and have accommodated all its recommendations for protective measures, which exceeded CDC guidelines. Despite these efforts, the combination of worker absenteeism, COVID-19 cases and community concerns has resulted in a collective decision to close and test all team members.”
Meghan DeBolt, director of the Walla Walla County Department of Community Health, said Tyson’s screening and social distancing efforts did not have time to work. She also said that federal and state guidelines for food processing facilities were not published until April 16.
— The Spokesman-Review
Mnuchin asks for equity stakes in exchange for $17 billion aid
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will require public companies deemed critical to national security that seek a share of $17 billion in coronavirus-related relief to offer an equity stake to the government.
For private companies, Mnuchin “may, in his discretion, accept senior debt instruments” or other financial interests, the Treasury Department said in the 10-page loan application posted on its website late Thursday.
The requirements are similar to those for passenger and cargo airlines seeking payroll assistance from the $2.2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package passed by Congress.
One obvious contender for the funds is Boeing Co. which has so far said it might not request government support. Mnuchin said he has had multiple conversations with Boeing’s top executives but declined to say whether it intended to tap government funds.
Boeing is poised to cut its 787 Dreamliner output by about half and announce workforce reductions when it reports first-quarter earnings next week, people familiar with the plans said Thursday.
— Bloomberg News
Seattle closing 6 more miles of streets to vehicle traffic
SEATTLE —Six more miles of residential streets in Seattle will be closed to vehicle traffic to create space for pedestrians and bicyclists.
The closures in the Greenwood, Othello, Rainier Beach, Beacon Hill and Central District neighborhoods begin on Friday.
Last week, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) closed about 2.5 miles of streets in the Central District and West Seattle to most drivers.
The city’s Stay Healthy Streets program aims to close about 15 miles of streets across Seattle in the coming weeks to nonessential vehicle traffic to give more space for pedestrians and bicyclists practicing social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic.
Through traffic is not permitted but people who live along the streets can drive to and from their homes, and delivery workers can operate on the streets. The city will install signs to alert residents about the closures.
— The Seattle Times
