As the US grapples with when – and how – Americans can return to work about 27,000 Boeing employees are preparing to resume commercial airplane production in Washington state this week. The move is being closely watched.

The decision came almost a month after the company halted work at facilities in the state in response to the mounting threat of the virus. Boeing is the US’s largest export manufacturer and its peers are carefully monitoring the company’s decision to get back to work.

But with at least two weeks still to go before Washington governor Jay Inslee’s stay-home mandate is set to expire, which involves the closure of all non-essential companies (Boeing is considered essential), and potentially even longer before comprehensive coronavirus testing is in place, some employees say they are worried for their safety and are questioning why Boeing is rushing to open its doors in the middle of a pandemic.

“Part of me feels thankful that we’re still employed, but the other part of me is kind of scared,” said a Boeing employee who works in production support for the 767 airplane and will return to the facility in Everett, Washington, on Tuesday. She asked not to be identified to protect her job.

The employee, who has asthma, said she was up until 4am the previous night, worried about being able to stay healthy on the job.

“It’s just scary to me, because I know what it feels like to not be able to breathe,” said the employee, who has worked for the company for over a decade. “The way this disease gets you, you just basically suffocate.”

Boeing also restarted work at production facilities in the Philadelphia area this week. Pennsylvania has a stay-at-home order in place for non-essential workers until 8 May that has led to protests by anti-lockdown groups.

In a statement released last week, Boeing said it would require face coverings, offer voluntary temperature screening and stagger start times so there will be fewer employees coming and going at the same time.

“This phased approach ensures we have a reliable supply base, our personal protective equipment is readily available and we have all of the necessary safety measures in place to resume essential work for our customers,” Stan Deal, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes and senior executive in the Pacific north-west, said.

The company also said all employees able to work from home can continue to do so. And if a worker does get coronavirus, officials will conduct contact tracing to limit the risk to other workers.

“We have talked about the prospect of Boeing reopening because they are essential, and I’m glad they’ve committed to a robust use of PPE [personal protective equipment] and workplace hygiene,” Inslee said during a press conference. “We hope to get more details on that, and our agencies will keep talking with them to ensure workers feel safe going to work.”

Washington, which reported the first case of coronavirus in the US and for weeks documented the most cases in the country, has since made progress with flattening the curve of infections thanks to its early and comprehensive response.

But as numbers continue to rise, officials have been wary about easing restrictions. As of Saturday, the state has confirmed more than 11,700 cases, including 634 deaths.

More than a dozen Boeing employees in the Puget Sound region have been infected with coronavirus, including one worker in Everett who died after getting the virus, according to the Seattle Times.

In a letter sent to members of the International Association of Machinists (IAM) District 751, which represents about 32,000 Boeing machinists in the Puget Sound region, the union clarified that employees do have the option to stay home.

If an employee is high-risk, needs to care for children, has a sick family member, or is simply worried about working at the facilities during the pandemic, they can use vacation, sick leave or excused leave without pay (LWOP), the letter explained. Some of these employees may also qualify for unemployment insurance benefits.

But for those who will be returning, the letter stressed that they “have a right to a safe work environment and should be provided with all the proper personal protective equipment”.

After the news broke that Boeing would be reopening its facilities in Washington, workers and local community members alike took to social media to speak out. While there were some who expressed their relief that the facilities were opening and predicted this could prompt additional businesses to follow suit, many others voiced their concern about what this could mean for their health and that of their loved ones.

One woman posted on Facebook that she is a pregnant wife of a Boeing employee and wants the facilities to stay closed until it is safe.

“Putting your life and possibly a unborn child’s [sic] life in jeopardy isn’t something I’d like to do thank you very much! How are they going to prevent this from spreading,” she wrote.

An inspector at Boeing, who works off-site at the company’s supplier partners, told the Guardian that he’s not as concerned for his safety at work, as he believes the threat of the virus has been “somewhat blown out of proportion”. But the employee, who will return to work on Wednesday, questioned Boeing’s classification as essential and the fact that it is reopening before the stay-home order expires.

“I’m not anywhere near essential,” said the worker, who asked for his name to not be included to protect his job. “I’m not an emergency responder, I don’t work in the food service industry. How is what I do essential to the economy other than helping to keep those suppliers running?”