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Washington Restricts Indoor Gatherings Ahead Of Thanksgiving, Puts Capacity Limits On Weddings, Funerals

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Democratic Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced a slew of coronavirus restrictions Sunday including limits on indoor gatherings, weddings and funerals.

Inslee’s proclamation titled “Stay Safe — Stay Healthy” forbids indoor social gatherings with those outside the immediate household unless visitors engage in a two-week quarantine or a 7-day isolation with a negative COVID-19 test. Inslee’s order, set to last four weeks, also caps weddings and funerals to a maximum of 30 attendees and prohibits outdoor groups with more than five people from outside the household.

Restaurants, bars, gyms, bowling alleys, movie theaters, zoos, museums and aquariums are required to cease indoor service, according to the proclamation. Additionally, the governor temporarily banned business meetings, open houses, indoor sporting activities and inside visits to longterm care facilities, authorities wrote.

A pandemic is raging in our state.

Left unchecked, it will overburden our hospitals. Our economic devastation will be prolonged. More Washingtonians will die.

We will not allow this to happen.

That’s why we are acting today.

— Governor Jay Inslee (@GovInslee) November 15, 2020

Religious services, in-store retail buildings, offices and services like barbers and nail salons will be limited to no more than 25% capacity at a given time under the order.

“Violators of this order may be subject to criminal penalties,” Inslee’s order stated. “Further, if people fail to comply with the required social distancing and other protective measures while engaging in this phased reopening, I may be forced to reinstate the prohibitions established in earlier proclamations,” Inslee wrote.

COVID-19 cases in Washington have surged to roughly 130,000, according to the state department of health. Cases spiked from around 75,000 in the beginning of September, the government medical authority wrote.