Inslee appoints Umair A. Shah, MD, MPH new secretary of health

By Office of Governor Jay Inslee | Press Release Gov. Jay Inslee today appointed Umair A. Shah, MD, MPH as the new Washington state secretary of health starting December 21. Dr. Shah currently serves as executive director and local health authority for Harris County Public Health in Texas.  “Dr. Shah brings an unrivaled expertise, knowledge […]

DOH admits inflated COVID-19 death numbers

By Maxford Nelson | Freedom Foundation Press Release On May 21 officials at the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) confirmed that, as the Freedom Foundation reported on Monday, the state is counting in its COVID-19 death total the deaths of persons who tested positive for the virus but died from other causes. In remarks […]

Local health officers have authority to involuntarily isolate or quarantine

By Mario Lotmore | Lynnwood Times Staff Inslee cannot commit to a hard June 1 date to transition to Phase 2 of his “Safe Start WA” plan New requirements for Phase 2: (1) progress of the virus, (2) success of contact tracing mission, and (3) public cooperation. “COVID exposed” person is defined as anyone who […]

Governor Inslee lays out statewide contact tracing plan for COVID-19

By Mario Lotmore | Lynnwood Times Staff May 20, 2020: Clarified the statement with WA state DOH, “refuse to cooperate with contact tracers and/or refuse testing, will not” to “refuse testing or self-isolation, may not” in the latter portion of the article. Also included a statement by the Washington State Department of Health May 19, 2020: […]