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On this March 15, 2020, a file photo, a Red Robin restaurant in Tigard, Ore., Closed some tables in order to maintain social distance between diners. (AP Photo / Gillian Flaccus, file)
As Washington hospitals fill up and daily averages of new cases and deaths continue to rise statewide, Gov. Jay Inslee spoke with Dave Ross of KIRO Radio this week about the response. state to the pandemic. Among other topics, Ross asked about the transmission of COVID in restaurants, pointing out that Republicans and Democrats have responded to the impact the new rules and closures will have on businesses.
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Although Governor Inslee has made it clear before that he does not regulate what happens on tribal lands, the casinos are open with reduced capacity and other restrictions. According to the Washington Indian Gaming Association website, there has not been a major outbreak related to tribal casinos in the state. So if they’re open to gaming and dining, asks Ross, why can’t we trust other companies to do the same?
“Well, it’s not about trust,” Inslee said. “The large number of restaurateurs are trying to do the right thing. They have worked very hard to provide hygiene, they clean their tables, they spread out as far as humanly possible. So it’s not a question of trust.
“It’s just that transmissions take place in every restaurant. We know it. It’s a scientific fact, ”he added.
The governor said it was not possible to trace every outbreak or case, not only because there were too many cases, but there was also no way of knowing who was in which restaurant. at any time.
“We only do the contact tracing for employees because they’re the only people we really know who are there at the time,” he said.
When the contact tracing has been done, restaurants are the first place for outbreaks that occur in non-medical settings, Inslee explained.
“Now, this is not a surprise because this is where the virus does its dirty work, that is, every time we are close to each other, unmasked, breathing one on one. ‘other for an hour, an hour and a half, and it’s a restaurant,’ he said. “These are also our own dining tables, and the same thing happens when we have friends over for dinner with us.”
“So it’s nothing to hit in restaurants,” he added. “It’s just the nature of the environment.”
Governor Inslee says there are a number of international studies that show there are transmissions of COVID-19 in restaurants. A famous example, he explains, shows that people who test positive for COVID are twice as likely to have eaten out.
“As I indicated, among the non-health facilities, the first place where we have shown epidemics are the restaurants, so we just know it’s a significant risk of transmission,” he said. “It’s a scientific certainty. And it doesn’t matter where the restaurants are, wherever you are. “
He knows it’s tough for restaurants and small businesses right now, which is why he’s hoping $ 135 million will make an impact.
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“But by the way, we need to help more than businesses,” he added. “We need to help restaurant workers, and that’s why we need to find a way to make up for the federal government’s failure to extend unemployment benefits and pandemic unemployment benefits that run out at the end of the year. this year. . This is why we need Congress to act.
“And if they don’t, we have to find a way, in my book, to try to replace some or all of that for these beneficiaries,” he added.
Ross asked if restaurants can get a COVID-19 safety inspection similar to health inspections to say they are safe to operate because casinos appear to have proven it is possible to open safely.
“I do not have the capacity and the state of Washington does not have the capacity, and the legislature of the state of Washington does not have the capacity, legally, under the United States Constitution, to shut down rooms. to eat on Indian and tribal reservations, ”he said. “… I can do it if I had the power, but I don’t have the power, so… it’s not an option.” I can not do that. Now the tribes could make the decision for themselves, but it’s not something that I control. So this is not a legitimate reason to expose people to this pandemic in non-tribal restaurants. “
Just because epidemics haven’t been traced in large numbers in restaurants or casinos, Inslee says, doesn’t mean that transmission isn’t taking place there.
“Did you hear the term, lack of proof is not proof of absence?” That’s the situation here when you talk to epidemiologists, ”Governor Inslee said. “It’s a scientific fact… that when you sit at a table talking to someone, without a mask, it’s a high risk of transmission. All the international medical authorities who evaluated him drew this conclusion. I believe him. And that is common sense. “
Inslee added that you can’t make these environments completely safe.
“The restaurants, I want to take my hat off to them, they’ve made an effort to do a variety of things – clean tables, put up some tables, the employees themselves wearing masks. These are good things, ”he said. “But until they come up with a way to eat with a mask, you can’t eliminate that risk.”
“It’s not their fault,” added the governor. “It is a reality that we have to take off our masks to eat. This is what creates the risk. It cannot be avoided, unless you go out and eat outside, and it is allowed, just like take out. And I encourage everyone to use take out as much as possible to support these hard working businesses. It would be a good thing to do this weekend.
Listen to an extended version of this interview between Dave Ross of KIRO Radio and Gov. Inslee on the COVID-19 Seattle podcast here, or by texting COVID to 98973.
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