Several tribes will close their casinos to slow the spread of the coronavirus in Washington state.
Announced closures include:
- Puyallup Tribe of Indians shut down both of its Emerald Queen Casino locations in Pierce County for two weeks, starting March 16.
- The Snoqualmie Casino will close to the public at 2 a.m. Wednesday, March 18, and is tentatively scheduled to reopen on March 31.
- Tulalip Tribes is closing its three casinos, Tulalip Resort Casino, Quil Ceda Creek Casino and Tulalip Bingo & Slots, through March 30.
- Muckleshoot Indian Tribe will start its temporary closure of the Muckleshoot Casino at 3 p.m. Tuesday March 17.
- The Suquamish Tribe has closed Clearwater Casino and its hotel through March 31.
Some of the tribes also added that employees will continue to get paid their base wages and benefits, at least for the next two weeks.
Tribes across the state have already closed large events like concerts and poker tournaments.
The tribes, which have their own governments, did not have to adopt emergency rules on crowds and closures put in place by Washington state. Many tribes said in their prepared statements that they were working with state, federal and health officials, and other tribes to determine their emergency procedures.