Trump approves Washington's major disaster declaration
SEATTLE (KOMO) -- President Donald Trump approved Sunday Washington state's major disaster declaration, which will give the state more federal assistance to fight the COVID-19 outbreak that has killed at least 95 people statewide.
The declaration makes federal funding available for crisis counseling for affected individuals throughout the state.
The funding is also available for state, tribal and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations for emergency protective measures, a White House press release states.
Gov. Jay Inslee said in a statement Sunday that even though the state appreciates that the federal government has recognized the declaration, the declaration does not give many forms of federal assistance that were requested to help workers and families.
“We appreciate that the federal government has recognized the severity of the public health emergency in Washington state by declaring a major disaster and taking the first step toward additional assistance for Washingtonians,” Inslee said. “However, today’s declaration does not unlock many forms of federal assistance we have requested to help workers and families who are badly hurting. We will continue working with our federal partners to deliver the full suite of disaster assistance that is sorely needed in our state, such as expanded unemployment benefits for workers who lose their paychecks as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.”
Inslee's requests for expanded unemployment assistance and basic food benefits remain under review by the White House, according to the governor's office.
Trump said during a press conference Sunday that he has ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency to ship mobile hospital centers to Washington, California and New York, which are the hardest-hit states right now.
This would give Washington 1,000 additional hospital beds.
The president approved New York's disaster declaration on Friday, and is reviewing California's declaration as of Sunday.
The Washington State Department of Commerce also declared Sunday that disaster assistance will now be available to all small businesses in the state economically impacted by the virus outbreak.
As of Sunday, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Washington neared 2,000, health officials said.
In King County, the total number of confirmed cases soared to 1,040, with at least 75 total deaths from the virus.
