Chamber a Catalyst to Reopen Washington
The Chamber has joined in the call led by Washington Hospitality Association (WHA) for the state to reopen by June 15, calling on Governor Inslee to release a plan for reopening the state by that date, joining 48 other states that have already released reopening plans.
The restaurant and hospitality industries have been the most severely impacted over the last 14 months of the pandemic, yet there has not been a statewide call for reopening until now. “It’s time,” says WHA President/CEO Anthony Anton. “While other states have a plan for moving forward, Washington’s plan only moves in one direction: backward.”
Reopening June 15 would put Washington in line with California. Democratic governors of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut have all announced they will reopen fully on May 19. The President of the United States and the Governor of Oregon have announced plans to reopen by July 1.
Washington’s plan has relied heavily on business shutdowns to control the spread of COVID. These shutdowns have not worked yet; cases are driven higher as people gather in unregulated environments that increase the spread of COVID. “Waiting to reopen doesn’t make sense,” says Chamber CEO Heidi McCutcheon. “When the data is telling us that keeping restaurants at limited capacity pushes people to continue meeting in private, we need to change our response. We need a plan to reopen – fully – on June 15.”
In a press conference the first week of May, Inslee said Washington will continue with phases for “the foreseeable future” and that the state is “way below” the vaccine rate that would support reopening. Anton shares, “The goalpost has moved too many times — first, it was about protecting seniors. Then, about flattening the curve. Then, about not overwhelming hospitals. Now, it’s about reaching an undefined vaccination rate that the CDC has already said is unachievable. We have all sacrificed only to have the goalpost moved.”
“We stand with our businesses and make data based decisions,” McCutcheon says. “That’s why the Chamber is urging our community members to sign a petition urging the governor to release a reopening plan. We all keep saying ‘we are in this together,’ and this is a way to act on those words.”
