Governor Jay Inslee gave a public address tonight with his wife Trudi by his side trying to convince Washingtonians to forego social Thanksgivings and warns of coming restrictions.
He is expected to announce new measures early next week.
“We are in as dangerous a position today as we were in March. In just the last two weeks our case numbers have doubled.
Simply put, it’s just too dangerous to gather with anyone outside our household right now.
Like so many of you, our family cherishes our Thanksgiving traditions. But this year, our family will celebrate the holidays virtually.
The good news is we only have to do this once. But it is just too dangerous to gather right now.
More than 240,000 chairs will be empty in homes across the U.S. because of the lives taken by COVID-19.
As you rethink holiday plans with your family, consider also how you can welcome these families into your hearts by the actions you take to protect your community.
In the next few days we will be announcing some further measures to prevent this from spreading. These decisions will affect what we do outside of the home.
But what’s most urgent right now is what we do in our own dwellings.
Every idea is on the table right now, except for the idea of failing to contain this virus.
That is not an option.
We are all fatigued, and it’s OK to not feel OK right now.
But what happens next in our state depends on what happens in our communities.
That’s why we implore you to rethink how you celebrate Thanksgiving, and the December holidays.
Thank you to the frontline and essential workers, from our health care system to our educators, from our farms to our grocery stores, from our retailers to our childcare workers, who have faced considerable risk throughout this pandemic.
And thank you to the 7.6 million Washingtonians who have each others’ backs every day, and who we are eternally grateful to call partners in this fight.
There is plenty to be thankful for, knowing we have the tools and the people to defeat this, and we appreciate all of you.
We are not helpless in this fight.
Happy Thanksgiving, from us to you. Stay healthy, Washington.”
