COVID restrictions lifted on Tri-Cities indoor dining, church services and more

You can again eat and drink inside Tri-Cities restaurants and some bars starting Thursday, Aug. 27, as the state of Washington loosens more restrictions imposed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

In addition, for the first time since late March small groups can gather in the Tri-Cities area, fitness classes may be held outdoors, churches may hold limited indoor services and more people are allowed in stores.

Public health officials credit the communities’ hard work to limit the spread of the virus in helping convince the Washington state Department of Health to allow more activities in Benton and Franklin counties.

“Benton-Franklin Health District and our community leaders have continued to work closely with Washington state Department of Health to safely expand activities,” said Dr. Amy Person, health officer at the Benton-Franklin Health District. “Our community has pulled together to decrease disease activity and it shows.”

The two counties remain in a modified Phase 1 of Gov. Jay Inslee’s Safe Start reopening plan rather than being approved for Phase 2.

But with the newly expanded activities allowed, about 70% of Phase 2 activities are now permitted in the two counties.

Newly allowed activities include:

▪ Restaurants can start indoor service. Seating is limited to 25% of building capacity. Outdoor service may continue at 50% of building capacity.

▪ Taverns, wineries, breweries and distilleries also can offer indoor service up to 25% of building capacity, but only if they meet certain food service requirements that allow them to operate as restaurants.

Among requirements is offering at least three menu items, such as sandwiches, pizza, fries or substantial appetizers.`

▪ Social gatherings are allowed outdoors with nonhousehold members. Five or fewer people may gather if they maintain six feet of physical distance.

▪ Churches and other religious organizations may hold indoor services up to 25% of building capacity or 50 people, whichever is less. Outdoor gatherings, including in tents with at least two open sides, can now be held for groups up to 200 people.

▪ More people are allowed inside retail stores. They limit is raised from 15% of capacity to 30% of building capacity.

▪ Outdoor group fitness classes are allowed with up to five people plus an instructor. Physical distance of six feet must be maintained among participants.

▪ In-person professional services are allowed by accountants, architects, attorneys, engineers, financial advisers, information technologies, insurance agents, tax preparers, appraisers, home inspectors and others.

Service is limited to 30 minutes per client and no more than 25% of building occupancy is allowed.

▪ Real estate clients are allowed up to 25% of building occupancy with indoor service limited to 30 minutes. No open houses are permitted but properties for sale may be toured by appointments.

▪ Domestic services, such as work done by nannies, house cleaners and private chefs, are allowed.

▪ Professional photography is allowed, but customers are limited to 25% of building capacity and 30 minutes per customer.

▪ Outdoor card rooms are allowed but limited to 50 people other than staff and only if physical distancing can be maintained.

▪ Team gymnastics are allowed, including training for USA Gymnastics.

▪ Drive in events, such as air shows and the Tri-Cities Carpool Cinema, may expand to sell concessions and allow nonfamily groups of up to five.

Additional modified Phase 1 activities had been allowed earlier, including curbside library service and allowing pet grooming and personal service businesses such as hair salons, barber shops and tattoo parlors to open at limited capacity. Limited swimming lessons and lap swimming also were allowed earlier.

Vigilance urged

“Now is not the time for people to feel the excitement of having a few more activities they get to do and forgetting all those important things we have been messaging about,” said Heather Hill, the communicable disease programs supervisor for the Benton Franklin Health District.

“Getting through COVID isn’t going to happen overnight,” she said. “This isn’t a sprint. This is a marathon and it is a very long marathon. We are entering a new normal that is going to last for months.”

With small gatherings allowed, people will need to be diligent about sticking to groups of only five nonhousehold members and remembering to wear their masks and maintain six feet of distance, she said.

Public health officials know from interviews with people who tested positive that social gatherings already have been contributing to the spread of the virus, she said.

The larger the group, the more likely it is that someone spreads an infection and that social distancing will be more difficult to achieve, she said.

State health officials have warned, and local officials agree, that area residents must remain vigilant in following safe practices, particularly as Labor Day weekend is celebrated, said Jason Zaccaria, Benton Franklin Health District administrator.

It will take continued effort in the community to prevent the spread of the coronavirus to allow the Tri-Cities to obtain state approval for additional business restrictions to be lifted, Hill said.

Other communities in the state have seen a resurgence in cases as residents began to slip on following best practices such as frequent hand washing and socializing without masks and social distance, she said.

Other counties advance

She also urged people to continue to be tested if they have symptoms or think they may have been exposed.

New cases reported daily in the Tri-Cities have declined steadily since early July when some restrictions for businesses were lifted. Since then more people have begun wearing masks in public, as surveys of shoppers leaving Tri-Cities area grocery stores have shown, and testing has become more available.

More testing catches more cases early, allowing people to stay at home while they are contagious and also helping to identify close contacts who are asked to quarantine until it is clear they were not infected.

The two counties have also benefited from local leaders, including some of the county commissioners on the local health district board, spreading the message on how to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Zaccaria said.

Just five of 39 counties in the state remain in modified Phase 1, as they had difficulty dropping their number of new cases per population to levels reached by other counties in the spring.

The governor has had a hold on approving counties to advance to new full phases, such as Phase 2 for Benton and Franklin counties, since July 28 as new cases in parts of the state rebounded this summer.

The other counties in modified Phase 1 are Yakima, Douglas and Chelan. They also are expected to have more activities allowed starting Thursday.

This story was originally published August 26, 2020 at 12:19 PM.