As Oregon sets end date for mask mandate, Washington hopes to revisit it ‘in near future’

Oregon health officials announced this week that the state plans to lift its indoor mask mandate “no later than March 31.” But could a similar move be on the horizon for Washington?

Mask mandate ‘a good, moderate step’ to keep hospitality industry running

In Oregon, the expectation is that COVID case rates and hospitalizations will decrease enough by the end of March to make it safe for mask use to become more of a personal choice than a state-level requirement. That said, health leaders qualified that by pointing out that cases and hospitalizations are still currently too high to consider lifting the mask mandate in the short term. As of this week, Oregon is 16th among all states in COVID-19 case rates per 100,000 residents, and 31st in hospitalization rates.

Washington could soon have a similar decision to make, sitting in a similar spot — at 21st in COVID case rates and 35th in hospitalizations. The state’s own indoor mask mandate has been in place since August of 2021. At the time, it was implemented in response to the rising prevalence of the delta variant. Prior to that, masks were only required for those who were unvaccinated after the state “reopened” on June 30.

The omicron variant of COVID-19 has long since overtaken delta as the most prominent variant of concern in Washington, but in recent weeks, its impact has waned. That’s evidenced by a 69% dip in the state’s case rate over the last 14 days, as well as a 14% decrease in its rate of hospitalizations.

As for whether Washington state could soon follow Oregon’s lead in setting an end date for its mask mandate, Gov. Jay Inslee’s office remains hopeful.

What you need to know about Washington’s mask mandate

“We are continuing to track cases, hospitalizations and deaths,” spokesperson Mike Faulk told MyNorthwest. “We are optimistic that these numbers will continue to decline in a way that will let us revisit the mask requirements in the near future.”

In the past, the Washington State Department of Health has also noted that projecting an end to its mask mandate can be a moving target.

“I don’t know that it will be a single metric — it’s a combination of things,” Deputy Secretary of Health Lacy Fehrenbach said last November, weeks before omicron began driving Washington’s COVID cases and hospitalizations to record levels. “We understand the public wants this information. We understand people want a path forward, and it’s not a simple answer.”

At the time Fehrenbach made that statement, Washington’s seven-day average for daily COVID cases per 100,000 residents was at 158. The state’s current rate remains at a much higher 1,496 cases per 100,000, albeit down from a rate that peaked at over 1,730 in mid-January.

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