Tracing and surge preparation needed, but testing is still the main concern

Washington state is starting to unveil the roadmap for when it will lift social distancing orders.

KUOW’s Paige Browning joins us for an update.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

We got a clearer picture this week of what it's going to take to reopen our economy. What is the latest?

Governor Jay Inslee said the criteria here include testing, tracing of coronavirus contacts, and hospitals being ready to handle another surge in cases. Testing really being the big one.

These are in line with the conditions that the World Health Organization put out today. Inslee said we have a long way to go on these goals:

“We're not at a level where we can take off social distancing, nor are we extremely close to a level where we can take off social distancing. If we do take off social distancing, we are going to see a rebounding of this virus, and more fatalities even than we are experiencing today. “

Our curve of cases in Washington is going down, but data out of the University of Washington states that if we start gathering again, the curve could jump up.

May 4 is when the statewide stay home order expires. Has that changed as of Wednesday?

That's still when the order ends, and we definitely won't open earlier. We're testing people for Covid-19 at a fraction of what Inslee and health officials want to see. A shortage of testing equipment has been a problem all along.

Could new efforts in Congress change that? Today, Senate Democrats were looking hard at coronavirus testing.

Senator Patty Murray and other leading Democrats in Congress have proposed a new funding bill. It calls for spending $30 billion on testing, equipment, new tests, but that's a lot to take out of the federal budget. This idea will need bipartisan support. Congress could vote as soon as May.

Listen to the interview by clicking the play button above.

See Gov. Jay Inslee's April 15 briefing below.