A COVID-19 test kit. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has ordered that all farmworkers be tested, but it is unclear who will pay for those tests.

Washington farms that must test all workers for COVID-19 may also have to pay for the tests, according to the governor’s office.

The state will pay for testing some 4,500 workers at Gebbers Farms, a fruit-growing company hard hit by the coronavirus in north-central Washington. Who will pay for tests at other farms with outbreaks will be decided case-by-case, a governor’s spokeswoman said.

“It’s a big unknown,” said Jon DeVaney, president of the Washington State Tree Fruit Association. “I suppose it’s better than, ‘The grower will always pay.’ But it brings a lot of uncertainty.”

Gov. Jay Inslee issued a proclamation requiring farms to test all workers if nine tested positive for COVID-19 in 14 days or if 10% of the workforce tested positive in 14 days.

In addition, Health Secretary John Wiesman ordered all workers at Gebbers to be tested. Three employees of the Okanogan farm have died from COVID-19 complications. The National Guard will help with the tests.

Farm group representatives on Aug. 20 said testing was important to contain outbreaks, but were trying to pin down answers for members about their obligations. The proclamation also placed new requirements for monitoring infected workers isolated on farms.

Washington Farm Bureau associate director of government relations Breanne Elsey said the scramble to sort out the ramifications of the governor’s order was reminiscent of the pandemic’s hectic early days in March.

“We all agree you have to get ahead of the virus and testing is important,” she said. “I just yearn for more clarity than we get from the governor’s office.”

Washington Growers League executive director Mike Gempler said he’s hopeful the state will pay for testing, if there’s money available.

He said testing farmworkers last spring in Wenatchee cost $200 per test. Later in the season, tests costs $50 in Yakima.

“This is not a standardized thing,” Gempler said.

Farms will have to pay for a health care professional to examine isolated workers twice day, according to the governor’s proclamation.

Emergency life-support services must be within 20 minutes, and an emergency room with a ventilator must be within one hour. Some farms are too remote and will have to rely on county facilities to isolate workers, farm groups said.

Farms with hundreds of workers could quickly reach 9 cases in 14 days, especially if they have employees who live in communities with COVID-19 spreading among the general population, the farm groups said.

Farms already are to varying extents testing farmworkers for COVID-19, Gempler said.

“The growers really need to jump on infections and get people tested, regardless of the new proclamation,” Gempler said. “It’s really important we do a good job of minimizing this.”

On Aug. 20, the Health Department and Labor and Industries solicited comments on emergency rules for housing farmworkers. The emergency rules were adopted in May. Because emergency rules can be in place for 120 days at most, they will expire Sept. 10.

The departments said it may make minor revisions, but plan to mostly keep the same rules in place for the rest of the reason.