Inslee: Mask mandate will likely be removed in coming weeks

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Requirements to wear masks indoors and at schools are likely on their way out in the coming weeks as long as the decline in COVID-19 activity continues, Gov. Jay Inslee said.

During a Feb. 9 press conference, Inslee addressed growing pressure to eliminate mask mandates as he somewhat moved in that direction by announcing the removal of the mandate on Feb. 18 for outdoor events with greater than 500 attendants. He also announced hospitals would be able to resume non-emergency surgeries on Feb. 17.

Inslee said COVID-19 hospitalizations are declining on both sides of the state. Based on the behavior of the omicron variant in other parts of the country and world, the governor said he is expecting the decline to continue.

“We have not changed, but the virus has changed,” Inslee said, pointing to an “emerging transition in pandemic efforts.”

He said data projections show the state could have “extremely low numbers” in COVID-19 activity by the first week of March.

“We believe this wave has gone up like a rocket and it’s going to come down like a rock,” Inslee said.

The favorable outlook will lead to changes to the state’s pandemic response “with the weeks to come, rather than months,” Inslee said.

The governor said he has plans to share information on a date the remaining mask mandates will be lifted sometime next week.  

“We are going to make decisions for the public health of Washingtonians based on the science here in our state,” Inslee said. “We don’t make decisions based on social internet culture wars over masks. We did not require masks for symbolism. We require them because they work and now we believe we’re in a place to transition to a different state.”

Lacy Fehrenbach, the state deputy health secretary for COVID-19 response, said the state is focusing on hospital admissions and the severity of disease as it makes decisions, as well as looking at any new variant that has cause for concern.



“Those things, in combination with health system capacity, will give us confidence that we can make some of these changes,” Fehrenbach said. 

Inslee said that although hospitalization rates are declining, they remain higher than any other time during the pandemic.

“Omicron is considerably less lethal, but it still has the capacity to jam your hospitals so nobody can get treatment for a heart attack. That’s our major concern here,” Inslee said.

The governor said he believes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will make changes to its own guidance “in fairly short order.” He said the state listens to the CDC’s guidance “intensely,” saying the state’s decision to keep indoor and school masking requirements are based on the CDC. 

Inslee said the current trajectory for lifting mask mandates is in line with the state Superintendent for Public Instruction Chris Reykdal, who has said local districts should be the ones to implement masking requirements “in the coming weeks.” Students at districts across the state have staged walkouts in protest of current mandates.

“Teachers and students have been doing a great job with masks, but if we can eliminate that inconvenience safely, we should do so,” Inslee said.

Inslee said any removal of a mandate is not intended to strip local health authorities from their ability to enact their own restrictions, nor would it remove the ability for businesses to make their own decisions on masking. Those individuals who want to will be “entirely free” to continue to wear masks.

Inslee said waiting a week to present a timeline will help the state get a clearer picture of when the mask mandate can be safely removed.

“If I pick a date today, it might be later than if I pick one next week when we see the data come in that’s even an accelerated rate of decline,” Inslee said.