WA reopened, but staffing shortage limits capacity for some businesses – KIRO 7 News Seattle

Washington State is fully reopened – meaning companies can return to normal capacity and operations for the first time since March 2020. The reopening of the state was celebrated in Tacoma on Wednesday.

“That was an incredibly stressful time. We deserve to celebrate for a moment to sit back, eat and relax, ”said Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards.

However, some companies say that difficulties in hiring enough staff prevent them from operating at 100 percent capacity.

Restaurants say business is well advanced, but staff has been a limiting factor.

“Oh, it was really busy,” said Debbie Brese, owner of The Cloverleaf, a pizza place and bar. “I don’t have a full staff. We have a little staff shortage that makes it difficult, ”she said.

Brese said they are hiring two servers, a bus driver and a delivery driver.

“Hopefully if everyone hears this, they’ll come by and apply for the best job in Tacoma,” she says with a laugh.

Brese said gratefully that they have loyal customers who supported the store during the pandemic and they never had to worry about the closure. But she says there are other reasons to hold back from partying.

“I feel like a yo-yo. And I don’t feel safe, I don’t feel safe in the fact that we’re going back (to normal) because it happened to us before you move forward then you can go back, ”said Brese.

She said there are also supply chain problems for things like pizza boxes or even zucchini that have made running a restaurant even more difficult.

“Be patient with us, be understanding. Don’t assume that everything is normal, ”said Brese. “A lot is happening in the background.”

Another concern that health leaders are focusing on is vaccination rates – especially with the circulating COVID delta variant.

While the state is about 69 percent vaccinated, many areas are below – including Tacoma.

“When you look at that Tacoma is only a little over 50 percent, I’m absolutely concerned,” said Mayor Woodards.

Governor Jay Inslee admitted that other areas have even lower vaccination rates, with some counties as low as 30 percent.

“We cannot allow these bombs to go off in these unvaccinated districts. These counties have a target on their backs, ”said Inslee.

“I want to remind everyone, if we are going to keep going in this direction – get vaccinated!” Said Woodards.

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