Hospitality association calls for reopening, pushes petition

The Washington Hospitality Association is asking Gov. Jay Inslee to reopen the state by June 15 and for residents to sign a petition urging him to do so.

The association wrote Thursday in a release that date would align with 48 other states’ reopening plans, including California’s, also on June 15. New York, New Jersey and Connecticut will reopen on May 19, and President Joe Biden and Oregon announced opening by July 1, the release stated.

“Our industry has been the hardest hit by far over the last 14 months of the pandemic, yet we have not called for reopening until today. It’s time. While other states have a plan for moving forward, Washington’s plan only moves in one direction: backward,” said Anthony Anton, president and CEO of the Washington Hospitality Association, in the release.

The association said the state’s plan relies on business shutdowns to curtail COVID-19, but the plan doesn’t work and has “driven cases higher as people gather in unregulated environments that increase the spread of COVID.”

Inslee announced this week the state would remain in phases and it was below the vaccine rate to support reopening.

“The goalpost has moved too many times — first, it was about protecting seniors. Then, about flattening the curve. Then, about not overwhelming hospitals. Now, it’s about reaching an undefined vaccination rate that the CDC has already said is unachievable. We have all sacrificed only to have the goalpost moved,” Anton said.

The association’s petition to Inslee to provide a safe reopening plan is available at https://p2a.co/reopenwa.

“Let’s join the vast majority of the United States and create a safe plan to reopen that our state can all unite behind,” states the petition’s website.

As of Thursday evening, 2,136 signatures were provided.