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Spokane Reaction To New Covid Restrictions Is Mixed

TVW screenshot

Spokane reaction to the governor’s restrictions is mixed.

At the governor’s press conference, one Spokane nurse asked people to follow the public health guidelines. Clint Wallace, who works at Providence Sacred Heart, says he and his colleagues are tired from eight intense months of caring for patients with the virus.

“These patients require more than a normal patient. They require continuous monitoring. They require a change of PPE, both entering the room and leaving the room. It’s critical to hospitals that the community listen to other health care workers for what they need to do to protect our patients," Wallace said.

Spokane County Interim Health Officer Dr. Francisco Velazquez welcomed the new restrictions, saying they're needed at a time when the health district has reported nearly 2,400 new cases of coronavirus during the last two weeks.

Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers issued a statement saying she’s “disappointed” with what she calls the governor’s “one-size-fits-all” proposal. She says she’s concerned with how it will impact small businesses.

Mayor Nadine Woodward says the timing is devastating and called for the state to come up with more financial help for communities. She called for individuals to make their family and friends their top priorities and take the steps necessary to protect them.

Greater Spokane is calling on people to take the steps at work and at home needed to keep the virus from spreading. It also asked the governor to “carefully balance the public health consequences of his decisions with the economic consequences.”