Inslee, others celebrate state’s reopening with gathering in Tacoma’s Wright Park
Most of the people at Wright Park in Tacoma on Wednesday were without masks as they gathered to celebrate the “reopening” of Washington state from most COVID-19 restrictions.
People hugged, shook hands and stood closer than six feet apart to talk to one another.
“Those of you who know me know I am a hugger,” Mayor Victoria Woodards said from a stage in front of a group of more than 100 people. “And so if you see me hug speakers twice today or when I get out on stage run around and hug as many people as I can, I have missed hugging you.”
On Wednesday, Washington state lifted most of its COVID-19 restrictions on masks, social distancing and capacity requirements, many of which have been in place for more than a year.
No longer are people required to social distance in grocery stores or wear masks (unless businesses require them). Bars, movie theaters and restaurants can fully reopen without capacity restrictions.
“This has been a very stressful year for all of us ... I think we deserve just a moment to sit back and relax and eat and fellowship with one another, and really honor those essential workers who have been on the front line, not just during the pandemic but who continuously are on the front line,” Woodards said.
Gov. Jay Inslee was one of several state and local leaders who spoke at the event, thanking front-line workers and vaccinations as the reason the state can reopen.
“This is the right place to be today in the state of Washington, and the reason is we are in the City of Destiny, saying it is our destiny to reopen Washington, and we are realizing that destiny today. We’re open big time in the state of Washington,” Inslee said.
“It is because of our nurses that kept us healthy and worked so hard. It is because of our grocery workers and agricultural workers that fed us through these difficult days.”
While clearly excited about the reopening, officials recognized the fight isn’t entirely over.
“Remember, just because we’re celebrating the opening of Washington State does not mean that COVID is over,” Woodards said.
For one, not everyone is vaccinated. As of Monday, the state Department of Health website showed 68.8 percent of people over 16 in Washington state had received COVID-19 vaccinations. In Pierce County, that drops to 50 percent.
Not everybody at Wednesday’s gathering felt like it was the right time to celebrate in the midst of so many other challenges facing the state and city.
Two Tacoma groups, Food Not Bombs and the Pierce County Democratic Socialists of America, held signs and passed out flyers bringing awareness to renters and unhoused people who were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Enrie Morrison, an organizer with Food Not Bombs, called Wednesday’s event “tone-deaf.”
“We’re here to essentially raise the question, ‘Who is this crisis over for?’” said DSA spokesperson Megan Capes, “Especially as so many of our communities across the state are grappling with rising rent debt and fear of displacement.”
Capes said she also worries about the Delta variant, a strain of COVID-19 that was first identified in India and appears to transmit rapidly. U.S. chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said earlier this month that vaccinations appeared to be holding up against the variant.
Woodards said at Wednesday event that after the moment of celebration, it’s right back to work.
“We get back to working on homeless issues and affordable housing. We get back to working on infrastructure,” she said.
Rosemary Jones, who has been homeless in Tacoma for 12 years, attended the event and said she has hope for the future.
Jones, 41, said living during the pandemic was “really difficult” for Tacoma’s homeless population, with fewer shelter spaces to seek out. She said she recently spoke to Woodards about ways to move forward and to open the eyes to the community show “we’re not all bad.”
“I think we stand a really good chance actually of achieving that,” she said.
Local unions were also present at the Wednesday to support frontline staff who worked during the pandemic, but also to continue to bring awareness to the COVID-19 impacts they face.
Members of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 367 showed at the event with matching shirts. They said they’re worried about another outbreak that could send the state “back to where it all started.”
Ray Bennett, who works at Fred Meyer and is a member of the UFCW 367, said he attended the event to celebrate frontline workers, but added he still wants to see hazard pay and that they’re working more with less people than they had prior to the pandemic.
“We work hard,” he told The News Tribune.
This story was originally published June 30, 2021 at 2:33 PM.
