Gov. Inslee relaxes restrictions on restaurants, movie theaters, youth sports
Oct 6, 2020, 3:20 PM | Updated: Oct 3, 2024, 10:54 am
Gov. Jay Inslee announced Tuesday that he would be relaxing a handful of restrictions on businesses and activities statewide.
That includes a measure allowing movie theaters in Phase 2 counties to reopen at 25% capacity, and at 50% in Phase 3. Customers at movie theaters will still be required to wear masks, and will have to stay six feet away from each other at all times.
Additionally, restaurants will now be able to serve alcohol until 11 p.m., extending a previous restriction by an hour. Capacity at tables will be increased to six people in Phase 2, and eight in Phase 3. Inslee also eliminated a restriction that made it so you could only dine at restaurants with members of your own household.
“We’re doing this because we want to recognize the progress we’ve made, and as an incentive for our increasing desire to do the things that work, which includes wearing masks,” Gov. Inslee said during a Tuesday press conference.
As part of these loosened restrictions, some outdoor youth sports will be allowed to resume as well, including soccer, softball, cross-country, tennis, flag football, and lacrosse. The governor plans to release more specific details about what that will look like in the coming days.
Inslee also spent a good portion of his Tuesday press conference emphasizing the importance of wearing a facial covering in public, noting its important role in allowing the state to continue the reopening process.
“We’ve got to fight this war with the weapons we have, and that’s a mask and social distancing,” he said. “What aircraft carriers were in WWII, a mask is today.”
