From Okanogan County

[Andy823]

https://fe3fe665-b1ae-4210-8916-fb3c8c924a03.filesusr.com/ugd/a01579_a4ad50cdb8074d32bfc940a93687d5f9.pdf


Closure of Overnight Transient Accommodations and Hospitality Lodging Until Further Notice

COVID-19 is continuing to circulate within Okanogan County. And it is even more prevalent in counties throughout Washington State. Because of this the Okanogan County Commissioners and the Okanogan County Public Health Officer determined that steps to limit tourism travel are now necessary in Okanogan County. This is to further control and prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Okanogan County.

The Okanogan County Commissioners and the Okanogan County Public Health Officer have declared a joint resolution for the closure of all hospitality lodging and overnight rentals, effective 8:00 AM on April 14th, 2020 and continuing until further notice. This applies to:

 Resorts, Hotels, Motels
 Short-term Rentals; Timeshares, overnight transient accommodations (bed and
breakfast)
 Campgrounds
 RV parks
 Private property being used as campgrounds
There are some exceptions to this closure including:
 Anybody who has resided in the hospitality lodging since March 17, 2020 or before.
No new long-term rentals are allowed.
 People employed in the hospitality lodging.
 People working directly in the COVID-19 response including essential personnel.
 People who are required by their employment to travel in Okanogan County to
provide essential services.

Other exceptions may be approved in writing the Okanogan County Public Health Officer for purposes necessary to assist in controlling or preventing the spread of COVID-19 or to promote public health.

[2naSalit]

1. That should have been a consideration early on.

It's a consideration we were faced with in early March. A lot of those places are full right now in my area and there is a very small healthcare infrastructure. So what if ten of them brought their own respirators? They will still end up in our hospitals and sooner than the locals. People with CV19 don't just go home in a few days, they are in the hospital beds for weeks, like ICU for weeks. These facilities and amenities should have been closed over six-seven weeks ago.