Dick’s Drive-in COVID closures show how King County treats workplaces differently than Pierce

Dick’s Drive-in closed its Kent restaurant early on Halloween after an employee tested positive for COVID-19. It reopened the following morning, with support staff from the chain’s Queen Anne location.

By Tuesday, both restaurants had closed, and 49 workers were in quarantine.

The temporary shutter was not so much a decision as it was persistence by Public Health — Seattle & King County to stymie greater outbreaks.

Kate Cole, spokesperson for the agency, told The News Tribune the quarantine procedure mirrors guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Due to asymptomatic patients, said Cole, “It’s important that anyone who has had close contact with someone who has COVID-19 follow quarantine guidance to avoid spreading it before they even know they’re infected.”

At Dick’s, this lone employee’s diagnosis affected 24 coworkers, according to president and chief financial officer Jasmine Donovan. The layout of the takeaway-only restaurant translates to close working quarters, nearly impossible to socially distance.

Like the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department, King County does not require businesses to report when a single employee tests positive for the virus. That was the case at the Kent location of Dick’s Drive-In last Saturday.

Unlike Pierce County, King’s public health agency developed an industry-specific inspection and enforcement program called SSTAR (Safe Start for Taverns and Restaurants). A dedicated team of “environmental health investigators” walks food operators through a nine-point plan related to Safe Start guidelines.

Since July, SSTAR has conducted more than 400 COVID-related restaurant visits. Most businesses had “fully or partially implemented preventive measures.” Inspectors returned to those without proper procedures, and all showed “significant effort” to improve, a blog post says.

Pierce County health inspectors have continued routine visits, but restaurants have only been cited for violations like no hot water or a broken refrigerator. If inspectors were to notice Safe Start violations on one of these visits, they would report them to the state, and would refer the facilities group to contact the business.

The facilities team often makes phone calls to businesses known to have positive COVID cases among employees. They visit on rare occasion, supervisor Christa Moor told The News Tribune last summer, only if operators seem to lack fundamental understanding of health and safety expectations.

King County has not been shy about shutting down restaurants for violating the governor’s orders. In late June, Public Health closed Duke’s Chowder House at Alki Beach after several employees tested positive.

Many Tacoma-area restaurants have publicly shared positive cases, and in many instances, have temporarily closed out of caution when an employee came into contact with a known case in their personal life.

The Pierce County health department does not require these closures.

King County doesn’t either, unless contact tracers and investigators discover a link to larger outbreaks — described by agency spokesperson Cole as “multiple employees at the same workplace becoming ill in a short time frame.”

THREE CASES CLOSE TWO DICK’S DRIVE-IN RESTAURANTS

After Dick’s first confirmed case last weekend, Donovan lost 25 employees, including the infected worker, to quarantine. In a Facebook post, the restaurant shared the news publicly and said it would close early that day — in part for deep-cleaning but also because now it was short-staffed.

With about 40 employees, Kent is one of Dick’s busiest locations, according to Donovan. To compensate for the large number of quarantined workers, the company closed its smaller, quieter Queen Anne store in Seattle and moved those seven employees south to Kent.

That decision proved costly.

A second employee in Kent tested positive for COVID-19 as of Nov. 3. This time, workers from two stores — 49 people in total — were roped into quarantine.

Most of them still have access to two weeks of paid leave through the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, said Donovan. Washington state also provides sick leave.

Dick’s did not have to reveal the first of these recent positive cases. In fact, said Donovan, earlier this year an employee tested positive after being exposed in a personal setting but did not tell the company.

“It was not transmitted,” she added. “It made us feel good about all the effort we’re putting into everything.”

Amid some of the highest single-day totals of the pandemic, Dick’s handled this first case differently. A second confirmed case just days later triggered a call to the King County health department. Agents assured Donovan that the risk of transmission to customers was “extremely low” — the average transaction, which occurs at a walk-up window, lasts under 2 minutes, she said.

“It’s very unlikely that any transmission could happen from an employee to a customer,” she added.

What can happen? Transmission among employees — both inside and outside the workplace.

A third Dick’s employee tested positive this week, but not from working with the first or second infected worker. Two of these people are in a “close personal relationship,” said Donovan, and one likely gave it to the other at home.

“Customers might assume that people got exposed at work, but that’s not necessarily the case,” she told The News Tribune in a phone call Tuesday night.

Still, she said, “It takes out two locations.”

Due to King County’s quarantine expectations, Dick’s will not allow most of these 49 employees to return to work before Nov. 11 — 14 days from potential exposure. Asked if they would be tested for COVID-19, she replied, “Even if they test negative, they can’t come back to work. They’re welcome to get tested, but we can’t force them.”

After two weeks, employees who continue to be symptom-free can return, she said.

Nonetheless, Dick’s technically could have just closed the restaurants without explanation. The King County health department said the restaurant opted for transparency “to help alert customers,” despite the low risk of exposure.

“While we don’t believe customers in this case are at high risk of exposure, given that the restaurant was in compliance with Safe Start COVID-prevention guidelines, Dick’s chose to take this step out of an abundance of caution,” the agency spokesperson said.

*Editor’s Note: The Queen Anne location of Dick’s Drive-in reopened Nov. 5. The Kent location reopened Nov. 11. On Nov. 7, the Lake City restaurant reported a positive COVID-19 case and will reopen when staffing and quarantine procedures permit.

This story was originally published November 6, 2020 at 5:00 AM.