SPOKANE, Wash. — June 30 has arrived and Washington state, whose first stay-at-home orders were announced on March 23, 2020, is open for business and has lifted most of its COVID-19 restrictions.
On Wednesday, Washington moved past the "Roadmap to Recovery" plan and all businesses were able to return to normal capacity and operations. Since May, all counties have been in the third phase of a four-stage reopening plan, with indoor capacity limited at 50%.
Governor Jay Inslee will be traveling to Spokane on Wednesday as part of a statewide celebration for the end of most COVID-19 restrictions and reopening the state. It is part of "Washington Ready" where the governor is able to celebrate with the community, business leaders and elected officials.
Inslee will visit the U.S. Pavilion Event Center Spokane at 5:30 p.m.
Inslee will be joined by Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward and joined by local healthcare workers, healthcare workers, educators and first responders who were crucial to Spokane's COVID-19 response.
In addition to the governor's visit, Spokane Parks and Recreation will put on a light show at the Pavillion in Riverfront Park at 9 p.m.
Inslee visited Tacoma, Washington on Wednesday as well.
The only limitation that will still be in place following the June 30 reopening applies to large indoor events, which are defined as any event with more than 10,000 simultaneous participants in an enclosed space. The state will still restrict these events to 75% capacity unless all attendees are vaccinated. The restrictions will be reevaluated on July 31, according to Inslee’s office.
The June 30 reopening comes despite the state not reaching its goal of getting 70% of residents 16 years and older at least initiating their vaccination series.
Since his May announcement, Inslee has created initiatives to get more people to get the shot including the statewide vaccine lottery and a similar lottery system for the state’s military members.
As of Tuesday morning, the Washington Department of Health reported just over 68% of residents 16 years old and up had initiated their vaccinations. The state, which had the country's first confirmed COVID-19 case, has seen over 414,000 confirmed cases of the virus and 5,911 deaths.
