Indoor mask decisions to come soon, Inslee says

Governor Jay Inslee has announced plans to lift the outdoor mask mandate, and indicates indoor masks may soon be optional as well.

“We are having conversations about when and how to safely change indoor mask requirements, and we’ll have more details next week,” Inslee wrote in a statement on Twitter February 9.

Although Inslee acknowleged high Covid-19 cases, he justified lifting the mask requirements because cases were declining statewide.

According to Washington State Department of Health (DOH) data, cases across Washington are among the highest they’ve been since the start of the pandemic. For example, as of February 8, there were 1,274 cases per 100,000 people in the state. That number was 125 during the first week of December and 322 during the height of Delta variant transmission in late August.

“We have projections of a very steep decline, leading to what we hope will be very low numbers by the first week in March,” Inslee said during a February 9 media conference where he first announced the guidance changes. “We believe this wave has gone up like a rocket, and it’s going to come down like a rock.”

Starting Friday, February 18, masks will no longer be required at outdoor events of 500 people or more, such as football games and concerts. 

These changes also mean the Washington National Guard will leave hospitals Thursday, February 17. The National Guard has been assisting at hospitals since late January, when Inslee requested 100 guard personnel help Covid-19 testing sites and nonclinical hospital duties. Hospitals will also begin nonurgent medical procedures Friday, February 18, which were put on hold in late January.

“Omicron clearly has characteristics that will allow us to lift mitigation measures in weeks to come, rather than months,” Inslee said. “Today is not the day to lift all masking requirements. We’re obviously having conversations and an intensive review on what day it will be and when we can do this.”

Meanwhile, state superintendent Chris Reykdal said he was preparing to ask Inslee and DOH to return the statewide public school mask mandate to the decision of local public health jurisdictions. He said in a statement he would like to see the change in the coming weeks.

“With high immunity rates and our ability to carry out rapid antigen tests with nearly every school district participating in our state’s Covid-19 testing program, the time is now to rebalance the health and educational benefits of masking in our schools,” Reykdal wrote.

“Current laws empower local health officials to assess health and safety risks and determine local strategies. Given the varied vaccination rates and adherence to other mitigation strategies across the regions in our state, it is time to return decision-making to local health officials. In some cases, local health officials may require temporary returns to masking or other mitigation strategies if cases spike or if a new variant poses elevated risks.”