LIBERTY LAKE, Wash. — Idaho moved forward into Stage 3 of its reopening plan Tuesday while Eastern Washington is still in Phase 1.
Bars, restaurants and nightclubs can seat patrons for indoor dining and the cap on gatherings has increased from 10 to 50 people in Idaho. Some types of gatherings, such religious, political or educational activities, are even exempt from the gathering cap altogether.
Restaurants in Eastern Washington are still closed for indoor dining, unless they meet certain criteria for airflow inside the restaurant. While Idaho continues to move forward, restaurants across the border are patiently waiting for a chance to expand their services.
“It’s just sad to me that we can’t function like we used to,” said Rhonda Entner, owner of Hay J’s Bistro in Liberty Lake.
The restaurant is less than 10 minutes away from the state border.
Restaurants like Hay J’s have adapted with outdoor seating while restrictions on indoor dining remain in place, but Entner says she's still losing business.
“With Idaho being right next door, they’ve opened, and of course like I said before, people would rather go sit down and enjoy themselves than to get to-go food or takeaway food,” she said.
Entner has been running her restaurant for 15 years. She’s been able to stay afloat during the closures but remains hopeful the East region will move forward to Phase 2 sometime soon.
Last week, the restaurant was able to open their dining room at 25% capacity with new ventilation measures.
“We just wanted to take care of our employees,” Entner said.
The East region must meet three of four metrics to move forward into Phase 2 of Washington's reopening plan:
- Decreasing trend in two-week rate of new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people
- Decreasing trend in two-week rate of new COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100,000 people
- Average 7-day percent occupancy of ICU staffed beds less than 90%
- Seven-day percent positivity of COVID-19 tests less than 10%'
In the state's last report, the East region was only meeting two of four metrics.