Small Business Grants funded by Verizon. A $10 Million Commitment In King County, cases have risen to new highs and hospitalizations are up. We are very worried about the increasing impact on the health of our community, healthcare system, and economy. Immediate action is necessary to flatten the curve in response to a statewide fall surge.
Among the new restrictions:
It’s time to stop socializing indoors. Indoor social gatherings with people who do not live in the same household are prohibited, unless you quarantine for 14 days prior to the gathering or quarantine for 7 days and receive a negative test result.
Outdoor social gatherings are restricted to 5 people from multiple households.
Reduce time spent on non-essential activities. Restaurants and bars can only operate outdoor dining, carry out or delivery. Retail and personal services are restricted to 25% capacity. Museums, aquariums, and zoos are only permitted to operate outdoor exhibits. Bowling and movie theaters are restricted from indoor operations.
We know what stops the spread and we need to do more of what we know works right now: limit our gatherings and discretionary activities, avoid indoor spaces, wear masks, keep interactions brief.
As Dr. Jeff Duchin reminded us, our response requires endurance. It hurts to run a marathon, but there will be a finish line. There’s progress being made with vaccines and treatments, but we need to keep a lid on it as we wait for a medical breakthrough.
Our goal is to reach a “low level of COVID activity” in King County at 25 cases per 100K in order to safely reopen schools in-person among other activities.
Key indicators for COVID-19 activity in King County.
WHAT’S OPEN? NOVEMBER 17 – DECEMBER 14
In addition to essential activities, the following are allowed:
Updated on November 15
BUSINESS AND SERVICES
- Aquariums and zoos (outdoor exhibits only)
- Construction
- Farms
- In-home/domestic services (nannies, housecleaning, etc.)
- Libraries (limited indoor capacity)
- Manufacturing
- Drive-in movie theaters
- Museums (outdoor exhibits only)
- Personal services (hair and nail salons, barbers, tattoo, etc. with limited indoor capacity)
- Pet grooming
- Photography
- Professional services/office-based businesses (telework is required where possible, businesses have capacity limits and cannot be open to the public)
- Real estate (open houses are prohibited)
- Restaurants/taverns (outdoor dining and to-go only)
- Retail (in-store purchases allowed with limited capacity)
TRAVEL
- Everyone is encouraged to stay home or in their region and avoid non-essential travel to other states or countries.
- Persons arriving from other states or countries, including returning Washington residents, should self-quarantine for 14 days after arrival.
RECREATION
- Adult and youth sports (outdoors only, masks required)
- Hunting & fishing
- Skiing
- Camping
- Golf and tennis
- Outdoor recreation involving 5 or fewer people outside your household
- Races: bicycle, running, cross country skiing, biathlons, canoe and kayak races, triathlons, and multi-sport competitions
- Water Recreation Facilities (appointment only)
GATHERINGS
- Indoor gatherings with people who don’t live with you are prohibited, unless you quarantine for 14 days prior to the gathering or quarantine for 7 days and receive a negative COVID-19 test result.
- Gather outside with no more than 5 people who do not live with you.
- Indoor spiritual or religious services up to 25% of capacity or 200 people, whichever is less. Face masks are required. (Choirs, bands and ensembles are not allowed. Congregational singing not allowed)
- In-home faith-based services or counseling with up to 5 people.
- Wedding and funeral ceremonies are limited to 30 people. (Receptions not allowed)
- Outdoor visitation at long-term care facilities. (Indoor visitation restricted to essential support person and compassionate care situations)
- Learning and childcare pods
