海角大神

The state of Washington, it seems, was made for this moment.聽

Successfully hold a major election during a pandemic? Check. Flatten the curve of coronavirus cases? Check. Manage the crisis so efficiently that you can actually give 400 ventilators back to the federal government? Check.聽

If COVID-19 is the ultimate stress test for a society 鈥� revealing how well it protects health, manages the economy, and comes together in crisis 鈥� no state might be passing with higher marks than Washington.聽

Editor鈥檚 note: As a public service,聽all our coronavirus coverage聽is free. No paywall.

Despite being America鈥檚 first hotspot, coronavirus cases have been going down for six consecutive weeks. Emergency department admissions for people with 鈥淐OVID-like symptoms鈥� peaked the week of March 22 with 557 admissions statewide, and dropped to 201 this past week, allowing small re-openings like farmers markets. And despite a primary election held at the height of the outbreak, Washington鈥檚 turnout ranked highest among all states holding primaries to date 鈥� 49.5%.

鈥淲ashington knocked it out of the park,鈥� says Phil Keisling, Oregon鈥檚 former secretary of State. 鈥淵ou were ground zero for the COVID-19 pandemic, and still you voted almost double the rate of other big Super Tuesday states the week before, including California and Texas.鈥�

So, why Washington? Is it something in the salmon and saltwater inlets? The answer is: Washington is not just 鈥渙ff in the corner of the country鈥� literally. It has always been a bit different 鈥� a place of contradictions.聽

It is both an economic titan 鈥� home to Amazon and Microsoft 鈥� and a liberal stronghold. It is both socially cool 鈥� so culturally insular that people joke about the 鈥淪eattle Freeze鈥� 鈥� and a dynamic hub of globalism. It embraces both individual rights 鈥� giving women the right to vote 10 years before the 19th聽Amendment 鈥� and the wisdom of the collective.

Behind it all is Seattle, a city that is one of America鈥檚 best-educated and has an ethic of 鈥渢hinking big鈥� ingrained in its founding spirit. During the past few months, that has resulted in a different picture of how the nation can respond to the coronavirus.

John Froschauer/AP

King County Elections workers collect ballots from a drop box during the Washington State primary March 10, 2020, in Seattle.

One takeaway is that success helps dampen partisanship. Take voting by mail, a divisive issue at the federal level.聽President Donald Trump has rebuffed calls for a nationwide vote-by-mail election this year, claiming 鈥渕ail ballots are corrupt.鈥澛�

But here in Washington state, 鈥淒o you ever hear any Republicans here say we have to get rid of mail ballots?鈥� asks Dwight Pelz, former chair of the state Democratic Party. 鈥淒o you ever see any Republican bills in the Legislature to repeal mail-in balloting? No.聽

鈥淲hy?鈥� he continues. 鈥淏ecause their constituents love it. According to the Republican ideology, we should be the most corrupt voting system in the country. But we aren鈥檛.鈥�

That sentiment is echoed in the more conservative eastern parts of the state. 鈥淰oting聽is聽our democracy,鈥� says Joe Kelly, who lives in the tiny mountain hamlet of Ardenvoir. 鈥淢ail-in ballots聽are聽more democratic.鈥�

And Eastern Washington has been doing its part in flattening the curve, too. 鈥淲e go to Wenatchee once a week to shop,鈥� Mr. Kelly adds. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 see any kids on the streets of Wenatchee. They鈥檙e mostly at home, which is a big change.鈥�

Yet it is in the Seattle area where the state鈥檚 COVID-19 story is most compelling.

King County became the first American epicenter of the pandemic when the virus was聽discovered聽here for the first time on U.S. shores. The response was comprehensive.聽

First, the region鈥檚 robust public-health sector sprang into action. The ecosystem includes the University of Washington, the Gates Foundation, and many other local NGOs.

鈥淢ost of these experts were trained at the University of Washington,鈥� says Amy Hagopian, a professor of public health at the university.聽

It鈥檚 impossible to overestimate the role of this massive institution in the region鈥檚 macro-culture, she adds. Economists, for example, have long said that Boeing will never stop manufacturing airplanes here because it doubts other areas of the country could supply the consistently smart pool of talent the university continually turns out.

But businesses and the citizenry played their part, too.聽

鈥淲hen Amazon learned it had its first case of COVID-19, it issued a directive the very next day for everyone to work at home,鈥� says Irene Voskamp, who works at Amazon in downtown Seattle. 鈥淕oogle did the same thing. Then Microsoft. Then Expedia.鈥�

With all those workers gone, downtown businesses reduced hours or sent employees home even before the 鈥渟tay home鈥� order. 鈥淭ake all of those people 鈥� call it 100,000 鈥� out of the city, you flatten the curve,鈥� she says.

Ms. Voskamp says the engineering mindset in tech plays a role: 鈥淟eadership understands what an exponential growth curve means,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hey actually understand math: 鈥業f we have one case today, we鈥檒l have 10 cases next week, and a hundred cases the week after that, and a thousand cases the week after that.鈥�

鈥淭hey had evidence from China. They had evidence from Italy,鈥� she points out. 鈥淭hey could see there鈥檚 no reason Seattle would be any different.鈥�

The biggest factor, Ms. Voskamp says, was that 鈥渓eadership that was willing to make hard decisions and accept short-term pain to avoid long-term disaster. That鈥檚 something not common in politicians, though maybe it should be, but it is an essential characteristic of good leaders.

鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 always make you popular,鈥� she added, 鈥渂ut there are times when being unpopular is the right thing to do.鈥�

Seattle is a place used to thinking not just big, but also small. Last week, in response to people鈥檚 need for safe exercise while sheltering in place 鈥� in a region where the outdoors has always been a strong lure 鈥� Mayor Jenny Durkan announced the permanent closures of selected streets to most vehicles.The idea is to provide people a place to walk, jog or bike in safety, sans cars and trucks. Giving citizens some 20 miles of residential streets spread across the city鈥檚 neighborhoods may not be as drastic as the governor鈥檚 sweeping mandates to dampen the rate of viral infection, but it signals to Seattleites that their leaders care about their well being on multiple levels: not just their public-health needs, but also their desires for recreation, community, and even to escape, now and then, the confines of their homes.

That culture springs from the city itself.聽

The message of 鈥淪ons of the Profits,鈥� a history book about the city: 鈥淭he people who founded Seattle, they were forward thinkers. They were willing to make bold bets. It鈥檚 still in the DNA of the city,鈥� Ms. Voskamp insists.

In King County, which surrounds Seattle, more than half of adults have college degrees, compared with about one third of adults nationally. Residents here are overall younger and, with a median household income of $89,000, earn nearly聽50% more than the median American household.聽

Seattle is annually named one of the country鈥檚 most well-read cities. It also is politically liberal: In 2016, some 87% of residents mailed in ballots for Hillary Clinton.

That鈥檚 a vestige of Western Washington鈥檚 past. Union organizers preached Karl Marx in lumber camps. The massive, five-day Seattle General Strike of 1919 is a historical touchstone. Utopian colonies routinely sprouted throughout Puget Sound.聽

The legendary toast offered by national Democratic Party leader James聽鈥淏ig Jim鈥� Farley in the mid-1930s perhaps summed it up best: 鈥淭o the 47 States of the Union and the Soviet of Washington.鈥�

But in these times, in particular, Washingtonians might have an even bigger superpower. They don鈥檛 mind a little isolation.

The reason the state was able to return 400 ventilators is聽that its citizens so dutifully complied with commands to shelter at home and observe social distancing.

The region is known, especially among newcomers, for the Seattle Freeze. It鈥檚 shorthand for explaining why locals are perennially, passively indifferent to strangers. Almost all who move here lament how tough it can be to forge close friendships.

Combine the 鈥淔reeze鈥� with the city鈥檚 Scandinavian culture, with its clannishness and built-in cultural distancing, and you practically have a ready-made pandemic boot camp.

A meme circulating on local Facebook pages jokes that no one needs a governor鈥檚 order to shelter-in-place when you鈥檝e already been conditioned by so many brush-offs to sequester at home.聽聽

The result of all these ingredients is a unique brew of communalism and innovation.聽

Says Professor Hagopian of the University of Washington: 鈥淲e get that we all succeed together.鈥澛�

Editor鈥檚 note: As a public service,聽all our coronavirus coverage聽is free. No paywall.