VICTORIA -- Passenger rates aboard Victoria’s ferry connection to downtown Seattle have declined as Washington state grapples with a worsening COVID-19 outbreak.
The passenger decline comes as Washington Governor Jay Inslee imposed a ban on gatherings larger than 250 people Wednesday.
The largest passenger ferry vessel run by the Clipper organization has the ability to move more than 500 people in a crossing between Victoria and Seattle, but Clipper Vacations CEO David Gudgel says that recent trips have not neared the maximum capacity mark.
"The maximum capacities we are looking at is about 250,” said Gudgel.
The company is now asking passengers to not congregate inside the terminals that they operate in both major centres.
“We are really trying to limit contact,” Gudgel told CTV News.
“We’ve had some significant cancellations," he said. "We will have the ability to have some space between passengers.”
Washington State has at least 25 COVID-19 deaths and more than 260 confirmed cases.
