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Car washes reopening in Washington under strict guidelines

Car wash employees and customers must follow social distancing protocols, and employees must wear personal protective equipment and get their temperatures checked.

SEATTLE — Car washes were given the green light this week to reopen as part of phase 1 of Governor Jay Inslee’s Safe Start plan to reopen Washington state. But, the businesses must follow strict guidelines to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). 

Brown Bear Car Wash announced Thursday it will reopen its tunnel wash locations on Friday, May 8 at 8 a.m. Self-service locations will open later in the day. The family-owned company operates 51 tunnel wash and self-service locations throughout the state. 

Brown Bear's announcement comes following Gov. Inslee issuing new guidance on Thursday for the car wash industry, detailing the requirements the businesses must meet to be able to open.

Those requirements include:

  • Educating workers about coronavirus and how to prevent transmission.
  • Maintaining six feet of distance between employees and customers at all times and if that’s not possible, then establish barriers between people in close proximity. Car washes can also stagger shifts, lunch breaks, and limit the number of customers at one time to maintain safe social distancing.
  • Providing personal protective equipment (PPE) to employees.
  • Ensuring frequent hand washing and sanitizing is happening, including disinfecting frequently touched surfaces.
  • Screening employees for signs/symptoms of COVID-19 prior to the start of their shift, including taking their temperature to determine if they have a fever. Any employees who are ill or showing symptoms should be sent home.

A COVID-19 supervisor should be designated by the employer at each job site to monitor the health of employees and enforce the COVID-19 job site safety plan.

RELATED: What's allowed during Washington's reopening? Here are the four phases

The guidance also states employees should create a daily log of all customers when there are face-to-face interactions, including getting their contact information and maintain that log for 30 days. The idea is that will help with contact tracing if someone associated with that car wash tests positive for coronavirus.

If you are planning to visit a car wash, check that it is open before you go and be prepared to maintain social distancing and likely use contactless payment to help cut down on person-to-person interactions.

RELATED: 3 advisory groups created to help guide decisions to reopen Washington state

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