More industry groups join those lobbying Gov. Inslee to reconsider new restrictions
Groups representing Washington businesses and an array of industries have collectively asked Gov. Jay Inslee to reconsider the restrictions he introduced this week to combat a “third wave” of COVID-19.
The push is one of several efforts on the part of businesses impacted by the new rules that have surfaced this week.
Gov. Inslee has promised economic relief, and was scheduled to talk about that effort during a news conference at 2:30 p.m. Friday.
At the bottom of an email sent to governor’s office staff Thursday were logos of the Association of Washington Business, a group that represents Realtors, and groups representing the hospitality, grocery and convenience store, retail, trucking, forestry, agriculture, building, and banking industries.
“Our organizations represent the 250,000 businesses in the state that collectively employ millions of hardworking Washingtonians in every neighborhood across the great state of Washington,” the email reads. “We write to you today, urging you to reconsider the recent restrictions added in response to COVID-19.”
The focus of vocal objections to the restrictions, scheduled to be in place for four weeks, had mostly been a ban on indoor service at restaurants and bars. Outdoor dining with up to five people per table and to-go orders are still allowed.
Wednesday, the Washington Hospitality Association sent a letter to the Governor’s Office urging him to reconsider the ban on indoor dining. The Everett Herald reported that a group of Democratic legislators also asked the Governor to consider allowing restaurants to have guests indoors at 25% capacity.
The Hospitality Association, a trade group that represents restaurants, hotels, and some entertainment venues, also joined in Thursday’s email. In press conferences, the group has pointed to stringent measures Washington restaurants have taken to reduce the spread, and data on a little over 4,200 COVID-19 cases across Pierce, Walla Walla, and Clark counties. The data shows that restaurants were identified as the origin of less than 1 percent of those cases.
The trade group says it’s trying to get more data from more counties — Washington state has reported more than 137,000 cases. According to the Department of Health, data on transmission is limited.
In justifying the recent restrictions, Department of Health officials point to a plethora of studies and guidance, including guidance from the Infectious Disease Society of America, which lists going to bars, movie theaters, the gym, and eating indoors at restaurants among “high risk” activities.
Health officials also appeal to common sense, given the science behind how COVID-19 is known to spread: between people in close contact, via respiratory droplets or small particles when someone who’s infected coughs, sneezes, sings, talks, or breathes.
“There is growing evidence that droplets and airborne particles can remain suspended in the air and be breathed in by others, and travel distances beyond 6 feet (for example, during choir practice, in restaurants, or in fitness classes),” the CDC website reads. “In general, indoor environments without good ventilation increase this risk.”
With sparse data on the environments where people are actually contracting the virus in Washington state, public health officials lean on that knowledge.
“With limited data on where transmission is occurring in Washington and limited data on the effectiveness of intervention, we need to rely on the science around how this virus is spread and decrease the amount of time we are spending indoors in close contact with people outside of our household,” a prepared statement from State Health Officer Dr. Kathy Lofy emailed to McClatchy reads.
That was “the driving principle” behind the latest restrictions, according to the statement. If public health officials had “great data,” they could “target” interventions to where COVID-19 is being transmitted.
“Occasionally, we can identify places where two or more people have been infected which we consider an outbreak but we believe these identified outbreaks only represent the tip of the iceberg as to where transmission is occurring,” her statement reads.
Putting aside the disagreement over data, Anthony Anton, President and CEO of the Hospitality Association, said in an interview with McClatchy that without an outlet that follows stringent safety measures, such as restaurants, people will find other outlets — such as gathering with friends at home.
If people would lock themselves in their homes, that would be the safer choice, he said. But he believes the real world isn’t so straightforward.
Meanwhile, a nonprofit organization that advocates for improved labor standards has called the pushback on restrictions from the Hospitality Association “divisive, misleading, and wildly irresponsible.”
In a news release Thursday, Working Washington urged the state to reject pressure from the restaurant industry to lift restrictions.
Instead, the organization argued, the state should “fix the unemployment system to provide benefits quickly to workers in need, and to ensure any financial relief offered to restaurant owners should be equally shared with restaurant workers who are bearing the health risk as well as the financial impacts of the restaurant industry’s actions.”
The latest, collective letter from industry groups urges Inslee to consider a uniform 25% occupancy restriction, arguing that some industries currently “seem to be unfairly targeted.”
Also closed to indoor activity under the new rules are gyms, fitness facilities, movie theaters, museums, zoos, aquariums, and bowling centers. Real estate open houses aren’t allowed.
The groups wrote about the partnership between industries and the state thus far and how that’s resulted in measures such as buying personal protective equipment and manufacturing needed products.
With the third wave of the coronavirus, the groups acknowledge in the letter that “additional measures may be necessary to stop social gatherings...”
But they made a case for a uniform capacity restriction instead of complete closures.
“While some industries may require additional measures to ensure customers have limited interaction, a 25% occupancy would still allow some level of commerce to continue and employees to maintain the jobs and income,” it reads.
Anton said WHA believes employers could at least keep people employed through the holidays — the group has projected that new restrictions will result in 100,000 people who were rehired with restaurants at half-capacity will again lose their jobs — this time without savings or federal help.
“This time people are trying to survive without a net,” he said.
The governor’s office shared with McClatchy a few other messages from groups offering pushback or input, including one from AWB and a coalition of dozens of chambers of commerce, another from a restaurant in Vancouver.
One letter, from Challenge Seattle, which represents employers in Puget Sound, was signed by former Washington state Governor and CEO Chris Gregoire. That one expressed support for “the need for renewed measures to keep the public safe” and proposed a “six-point plan” to respond to the current surge.
Asked via email whether Inslee is considering that uniform capacity limit suggestion, a spokesperson for his office wrote that the Governor is expected to address the topic at the Friday press conference.
“There is a strong body of medical evidence behind these decisions, which also have strong vocal support in the medical community,” spokesperson Mike Faulk wrote. ”It is unfortunately only a matter of time before this latest COVID wave does more damage locally and around the country. Fewer people in Washington will get sick and die as a result of these decisions.
“This is not to dismiss the pain small businesses are feeling right now; it’s very concerning to us and a lot of people in government at the state and local level are working hard right now to find more economic supports. We wish the federal government would take a greater interest in this as well, because every state is going to be facing these decisions if they aren’t already.”
Alongside the new restrictions, Inslee on Sunday announced he was committing $50 million in federal aid for businesses and workers.
Spokesperson Tara Lee wrote in an email to McClatchy Friday morning that the Governor’s Office will be “rolling out the details” Friday afternoon, and that the plan will likely be more than $50 million.
This story was originally published November 20, 2020 at 1:04 PM with the headline "More industry groups join those lobbying Gov. Inslee to reconsider new restrictions."
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