Inslee orders further social restrictions for COVID fight

SEATTLE (AP) — Washington Gov. Jay Inslee says he is tightening restrictions throughout the state in restaurants and bars, for weddings and funerals, and at gyms in a further effort to stem a surge in COVID-19 cases. Starting next Thursday, indoor dining at restaurants will be limited to members of the same household and alcohol service must end at 10 p.m. Bars, taverns, breweries, wineries and distilleries must close all indoor service. Religious and secular wedding ceremonies still will be allowed.

Here is a breakdown of the new orders:

• Indoor dining limited to household members
• Alcohol sales must end at 10 p.m.
• Table size reduced to 5 people and total occupancy to 50% capacity in phase 3
• No indoor service at any bar, brewery, tavern, winery or distillery, regardless of whether food is being served.
• For counties in the third phase of the four-part plan, restaurant table sizes must be reduced to five people, and indoor occupancy to 50%.
•  Restaurants must also close down game areas, such as for video games, pool tables and darts, until their county has reached the fourth phase.

• Second-phase counties — like Clallam and Jefferson – must limit indoor fitness spaces to five customers at a time. Those indoor places include but are not limited to gyms, pools, fitness studios and tennis facilities.
• Third-phase counties must cap indoor fitness occupancy to 25% and not more than 10 people to a group class, not including their instructor.

• Indoor entertainment spaces — like bowling alleys, arcades, mini-golf and card rooms — are not allowed to open until the fourth phase.
• Indoor movie occupancy for counties in the third phase is now limited to 25% capacity.

• The governor also announced a new ban on receptions at weddings and funerals, which will take effect starting in two weeks.
• Receptions are no longer allowed.
• Wedding and funeral ceremonies will still be allowed, but they will be restricted in all counties to an indoor occupancy of 20% capacity or as many as 30 people, whichever is fewer and people must maintain six feet of physical distance.

• Governor Inslee announced additional restrictions and mandates for mask usage. The Secretary of Health is expanding the requirement for mask usage to include all public common indoor spaces as well — e.g. inside a building, hallways, elevators, shared spaces in apartment complexes, nursing homes, etc.