PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Oregon Governor Kate Brown–along with Washington Governor Jay Inslee and California Governor Gavin Newsom–announced an agreement on a shared path towards re-opening each state’s economy while continuing to control the spread of COVID-19.
The three west coast states’ pact essentially mirrors the one formed by New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. Governors from all the states made separate announcements just hours after President Donald Trump said on Twitter that it was his decision to decide when to “open up the states.”
The governors did not announce specific plans on how to scale back stay-at-home orders or reopen businesses. Instead, both groups said they would coordinate those decisions while first considering the health of residents.
“COVID-19 has preyed upon our interconnectedness,” Brown, Inslee and Newsome said in their joint statement. “In the coming weeks, the West Coast will flip the script on COVID-19 — with our states acting in close coordination and collaboration to ensure the virus can never spread wildly in our communities.”
Trump’s statement on Twitter earlier in the day also said that he was working closely with governors. It was not immediately clear whether the compacts announced by the Northeast and West Coast states were in reaction to the president’s earlier message or had been in the works beforehand.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.