On February 28 Gov. Jay Inslee announced that new masking guidelines for Washington state will go into effect on March 12. This announcement is a revision to the previous statement that indicated restrictions would lift on March 21. As case rates and hospitalizations continue to decline, Washington, Oregon and California elected to align the updated indoor and school-related mask guidelines to take effect on March 12. According to the press release, the earlier date does not alter the updated mask requirements Gov. Jay Inslee announced last week. Masks will still be required in certain settings including health care, corrections facilities, and long-term care facilities. The Governor’s office stated in the press release that information regarding K-12 masking guidelines will be released shortly.
Gov. Jay Inslee issued the following statement related to the easing of masking restrictions, “We’ve continued to monitor data from our state Department of Health, and have determined we are able to adjust the timing of our statewide mask requirement. While this represents another step forward for Washingtonians, we must still be mindful that many within our communities remain vulnerable. Many businesses and families will continue choosing to wear masks, because we’ve learned how effective they are at keeping one another safe. As we transition to this next phase, we will continue to move forward together carefully and cautiously.”
For more detail about the new masking guidelines, consult the mask requirements list that can be found in the Dropbox Mask folder and is included below.
