Protesters rally against Washington stay-at-home orders

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Thousands of people gathered at the Washington state Capitol to protest Gov. Jay Inslee’s stay-at-home order designed to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

In Olympia on Sunday, some protesters wore masks and some waved American flags.

The Washington State Patrol said an estimated 2,500 people showed up at the protest. No arrests were made.

Tyler Miller, one of the organizers of the event, said rural areas should be treated differently than urban locations with more coronavirus cases.

The protest is the latest in a wave of demonstrations against stay-at-home orders across the country.

Earlier Sunday, Inslee decried President Donald Trump’s call to “liberate” parts of the country from social-distancing decrees, saying Trump is fomenting potentially deadly “insubordination” before the pandemic is contained.

Inslee has acknowledged the pressure to reopen the economy, but said his order is not about politics and that crowd counts and speeches “won’t determine our course.”

Health officials said Washington has seen progress but there’s still uncertainty.

“When the curves are low, it’s much more difficult to predict when the curves are going to fully decline,” said Dr. Deborah Birx, coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force.

The governor’s stay-at-home order ends in about two weeks, and he said some restrictions may extend beyond that.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

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