VANCOUVER, WA (KPTV) – Washingtonians have avoided further COVID-19 restrictions but are also getting no closer to fully reopening, as Governor Jay Inslee announced Tuesday a “two-week break” in switching between phases.
It comes that COVID-19 cases and hospital admissions have increased but related deaths are falling, and health officials said the state appears to be plateauing on the “fourth wave” of COVID-19 cases.
This is in stark contrast to Portland, where Multnomah County now falls into an “extreme risk” category with tight restrictions on business operations and gatherings.
With so much closed in Oregon, Portlanders are now crossing state lines to dine at restaurants and exercise at finesse clubs.
On Tuesday afternoons, the parking lots around the Vancouver Waterfront were crowded with many Oregon license plates.
Several restaurants told Fox 12 that they had an increase in Portland customers and requests for reservations for various parties and celebrations.
“The numbers have grown exponentially,” said Randy Noia, general manager of WildFin American Grill. “I’m ahead of the 2018 and 2019 numbers.”
It was a huge boost to business, despite Clark County sticking to phase three of the state’s recovery plan, which limits restaurant capacity to 50 percent.
Noia said WildFin was running out of capacity almost every day and had to turn down requests for larger gatherings as the restaurant doesn’t offer private dining rooms.
“We have received numerous calls asking about big parties – rehearsals, bar mitzvas, weddings, graduations from the Portland area – for fear of closing,” Noia said.
Gordon Strutz of Gresham and his wife went to Vancouver to enjoy an indoor birthday dinner with friends at WildFin.
“We vaccinated right at the beginning, I go everywhere,” said Strutz. “I am 76 years old, how many years do I have left to live?”
Cross state lines to eat or even to exercise. Large fitness clubs are also discovering new faces.
“We have seen an influx of traffic in our Vancouver clubs,” said Jen Fox, district manager for 24 Hour Fitness. “We have two locations and saw some people coming from Portland.”
“Even though we’re currently closed in the Multnomah and Clackamas districts, it’s still great that we can take a lot of people with us when they’re ready to come to Vancouver for that short drive. We’re here for you, ”said Fox.
As for Inslee’s announcement of the two-week hiatus, Noia said he was grateful that Clark County won’t take a step backwards.
“I’m very relieved that he hasn’t done anything for two weeks,” Noia said, adding that it would make sense for the state to move towards a downturn in the number of cases.
“As long as we keep our numbers where they need to be so they don’t go back, it’s going to be a huge summer on the boardwalk,” Noia said.
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