After the announcement from Governor Jay Inslee that seven of the eight regions in the state would move on to Phase 2 of the Roadmap to Recovery plan, the Washington Hospitality Association has released a statement.
“The Governor’s announcement today to move most of the state to Phase II is great news for public health and for our industry,” President of the CEO of the WHA Anthony Anton says, “In the areas of our state that have been reopened, we’ve seen cases continue to drop as gatherings have moved to regulated, safe establishments.”
But the Hospitality Association is still pushing for restaurants to be able to open their doors to 50% capacity.
“We know we have more work to do: We must allow safe gathering spaces in every area of the state. We are committed to working with the Governor on reopening, determining stable metrics, and mapping a path to 50 percent indoor capacity to stop the spread of COVID,” Anton said.
Anton also says that the Hospitality Association expresses support for the South Central region, which is the only region in the state that is not yet moving on to Phase 2 due to not meeting the necessary COVID-19 metrics provided by the state.
“They’ve been disproportionately impacted by COVID shutdowns throughout the pandemic, and we know the businesses there are struggling, “Anton said, “The communities have done fantastic work to drop their case counts over the past three weeks. We will work with the Governor to understand why the region isn’t joining the rest of the state in reopening and how we can work toward a positive solution.”
