'Most dangerous public health day in over 100 years': Inslee announces strict COVID-19 restrictions

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee made his message clear for the coming month: Don't gather indoors.

The governor held a rare Sunday news conference where he announced a ban on all indoor social gatherings, indoor dining at restaurants and bars and a 25% occupancy limit for grocery and retail stores, effective Monday at 11:59 p.m. through at least Dec. 14, in an effort to curb the latest surge of COVID-19 cases.

"Inaction here is not an option. We have to take bold, decisive action, and we're doing that today," Inslee said.

Inslee called the day the most dangerous public health day in Washington in the past 100 years, as the virus raged in the state and abroad. If left unchecked, the surge would precede "continued untold number of deaths," the governor said.

The rollbacks on reopening are the most dramatic restrictions since the state's stay-at-home order in the spring that severely limited which businesses could operate. As counties progressed in reopening under the governor's "Safe Start" plan, Washington's steep unemployment numbers began dropping.

"We are today in a more dangerous position than we were in March, when our first stay-at-home order was issued," Inslee said as he referenced rising daily cases and the chance of more indoor gatherings during the colder months.

Health officials are worried that the sharp rise in cases will lead to more hospitalizations, putting an immense strain on an already taxed hospital system. King County Executive Dow Constantine said during the news conference there were twice as many people in local hospitals than a month ago.

"This increase is simply not sustainable," Washington state health officer Dr. Kathy Lofy said during the news conference. "We will eventually exceed the capacity in our hospitals to adequately care for all patients, including patients with or without COVID, and will ultimately lead to more deaths."

NW News Network reported that an email from the Washington Hospitality Association to Washington Food Industry Association members said the restrictions were "devastating," and could eliminate 100,000 jobs.

Many restaurants in Washington have closed permanently due to the pandemic and a new set of restrictions has been feared by businesses as the federal government has not passed any further COVID relief beyond the initial CARES Act which increased unemployed benefits, provided one-time cash payments and gave forgivable loans to small businesses, most of which has expired.

In Congress, the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives has tried twice to push forward relief funds. However, the Republican-majority Senate hasn't voted on them once they passed the House. Before the general election, President Donald Trump tweeted there wouldn't be a relief bill before the election.

In the Washington Legislature, Republicans and Democrats have been critical of the governor's office for the restrictions' impacts on Washington's economy.

"The Gov must announce relief efforts for restaurants & small retailers to survive his order," Rep. J.T. Wilcox tweeted Saturday night. "He must announce this at the same time he announces restrictions & they cannot wait for the session House Republicans are ready for special session to pass good policy at 24 hours notice"

Wilcox is the Republican minority leader for the state's House of Representatives.

Inslee acknowledged the economic impacts of strict COVID measures.

"The COVID pandemic is not just a public health crisis, it is an economic crisis as well, and how we have fashioned a plan needs to recognize both of those things. We cannot take lightly the impact on businesses in this regard," Inslee said.

The governor also committed $50 million in the form of loans and grants for businesses and employees impacted by the pandemic.

"As Seattle implements these new restrictions from the state, we are committed to finding ways to support our small businesses, particularly our restaurants," Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan said during the virtual news conference. She said she'll be proposing relief measures locally.

The full restrictions included:

• No indoor gatherings
• Outdoor gatherings limited to five people
• No indoor dining
• 25% capacity for grocery/retail stores
• 25% capacity for businesses providing personal services
• 25% capacity or 200 people, whichever is less, for buildings with religious services
• No indoor sports for adult or youth teams, athletes must wear masks
• Office employees required to work from home if possible
• Closed gyms
• Closed movie theaters
• Closed bowling alleys
• Closed museums
• Closed aquariums

The new restrictions would not affect childcare or K-12 education, the latter of which is mostly remote around the state.

The announcement was expected after local and state health officials spent a Tuesday news briefing warning people against having Thanksgiving celebrations with people outside their homes. On Thursday, Trudi Inslee accompanied the governor as they pleaded with Washingtonians to abandon their Thanksgiving plans.

"We are optimistic that Thanksgiving 2021 will be the best ever, but this year it's just too dangerous to gather together indoors, where the virus can spread so easily," Inslee said Thursday.

Inslee warned of coming restrictions Thursday, as Washington was among the majority of states in the country facing sharp increases in daily cases. As of Friday, November had 12 days with more than 1,000 cases of the novel coronavirus. Between the beginning of the pandemic and Nov. 1, Washington had four days with more than 1,000 daily cases. On Friday and Saturday, the state reported more than 2,000 new cases each day. Saturday continued the streak of breaking daily case records. Inslee said during the Sunday news conference that Sunday could be another record-breaking day.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Washington has reported 127,731 cases, 9,281 hospitalizations and 2,519 deaths.

Washington wasn't alone in bringing back restrictions. On Friday, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announced a two-week freeze to stop a rapid spread. Her measure stopped indoor dining as well, and closed gyms and other recreational activities, indoors and outside.

Washington and Oregon joined California in announcing a travel advisory for the foreseeable future, urging those who have traveled in or out of their state to quarantine for 14 days.

In North Dakota and Utah, the governors announced statewide mask mandates to control the spread. The Dakotas have had some of the worst spreads in the world over the past few weeks.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.