King County anticipates lifting indoor mask mandate in March
Feb 28, 2022, 5:42 AM
A sign indicates the customer limit at a coffee shop in Seattle. (MyNorthwest photo)
(MyNorthwest photo)
King County plans to lift its indoor mask mandate on March 21 — the same date the statewide mask mandate is set to end — with the caveat that current COVID trends must hold to repeal the order in March.
That announcement came Friday, with Dr. Jeff Duchin, Health Officer, Public Health — Seattle & King County, stating that King County is now considered to be at a “low COVID-19 community level,” meaning case rates and hospitalizations have fallen to a sufficient threshold to remove the mandate, per new guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
— Public Health – Seattle & King County (@KCPubHealth) February 26, 2022
“If these trends hold or, even better, improve through early March we anticipate lifting the King County indoor mask mandate on March 21st when the Washington mandate lifts,” Dr. Duchin wrote in a public statement.
CDC to significantly ease pandemic mask guidelines Friday
The public health officer continued by stressing that relaxation of the mask mandate does not mean an end to all pandemic-related guidelines. He stressed the benefits of a “layered approach” to mitigate spread, referencing the benefits of COVID vaccines, improved air quality through ventilation, and limiting the amount of time spent in crowded spaces with poor ventilation.
“Anyone who wants to lower their risk of COVID-19 for any reason may choose to continue to mask in certain settings,” the statement continues.
“We all need to be able to employ layered prevention measures when COVID-19 risk increases.”
The March 21 date will be concurrent with the statewide repeal of indoor masking requirements. Gov. Jay Inslee announced earlier in February that the statewide requirement would end (outside of certain health care and correctional facilities) in late March. However, the governor left the door open for local governments to decide for themselves to preserve the requirement.
Washington state to end indoor mask mandate on March 21
The CDC also announced Friday that federal requirements for mask mandates would be loosened. Gov. Inslee confirmed in a written statement that his office plans to preserve March 21 as the date to sunset Washington state’s mask mandate.
“Our office and our state Department of Health are reviewing the updated guidance from the CDC and evaluating their data, metrics, and approach,” Gov. Inslee wrote in a statement. “March 21 remains the current date for ending the state’s indoor mask requirements, and we’ll have more to say next week.”
King County’s vaccine requirement for most indoor establishments will end on March 1. The statewide outdoor mask mandate for large events ended last week.
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