Inslee extends virus restrictions until Jan. 11
December 30, 2020 GMT
Inslee said the restrictions are now due to expire Jan. 11.
“This choice is not easy,” Inslee, a Democrat, said via Twitter. “Next week I’ll be announcing more details about our new plan to safely reopen.”
In mid-November Inslee, in response to rising case numbers, announced a host of businesses must close their indoor services, including fitness facilities and gyms, bowling centers, movie theaters, museums, zoos and aquariums. Retail stores including grocery stores were told to limit their indoor capacity to 25%.
Also, indoor social gatherings with people from more than one household are prohibited unless attendees have either quarantined for 14 days before the gathering or tested negative for COVID-19 and quarantined for seven days. There’s no enforcement mechanism for indoor get-togethers.
Washington begins vaccinating prison staff, inmates for COVID-19
Staff and inmates in a long-term care unit at Coyote Ridge Corrections Center in Central Washington will be among the first to receive coronavirus shots. Author: KING 5 Staff Updated: 8:43 AM PST December 30, 2020
SEATTLE The Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC) has begun vaccinating some prison workers and inmates for coronavirus.
As of Monday, DOC says it has received limited COVID-19 vaccine doses, and vaccinations began for certain inmates and workers in the Phase 1A prioritization, which is based on recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Washington State Department of Health.
Washington Department of Corrections vaccinates high-risk inmates, prison staff By Associated Press
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SEATTLE The Washington State Department of Corrections has started vaccinating some high-risk inmates and prison employees, putting them among the first recipients to receive the vaccine in the state.
Employees and inmates in a central Washington prison’s assisted-living ward, and medical staff and long-term care inmates in a Spokane County prison with the system’s largest current outbreak have been inoculated, The Seattle Times reported Tuesday.
Department officials said no general population inmates are receiving the vaccine at this time.
Questions about how to prioritize who receives the vaccine and when have been discussed across the country. Some have argued inmates are in cramped conditions that mimic those in long-term care facilities, but have been left off vaccine priority recommendations.
Some formerly incarcerated people have regained their freedom at a tumultuous time.
By
Sophia Gates
12/29/2020 at 9:00am
Jermaine Williams.
Felicia Dixon was coming back from work in late May when the King County Metro bus she was riding stopped in Seattleâs International District. Outside, she could see police blocking the road and protesters in the street; at one point, several officers surrounded a man. As the bus idled, Dixon asked to borrow a cell phone from a stranger. âWhoâre you calling?â he asked her.
âI just need to call my family,â she told him.Â
But Dixon wasnât calling her family. Instead, she dialed the number for the Helen B. Ratcliff work release facility, where she was then incarcerated. A staffer there told her to stay on the bus.Â