COVID-19 transmission continues to decline in Washington, but mask guidance confusion remains

Washington public health officials emphasized that the state is "making incredible progress" with flattening COVID-19 cases and broadened access to vaccines, but said the work is still not done.

On Tuesday, all counties in the state moved to Phase 3 of the state's reopening plan, a decision that Secretary of Health Umair Shah says was guided by disease activity declining since early May.

"We are making such incredible progress across the state of Washington and across the country, and we are absolutely working in the right direction," Shah said in a news briefing Wednesday.

According to the most recent complete data as of May 17, the state was seeing a rate of about 224 new cases per 100,0000 people over the previous 14 days. King County's rate was slightly lower, at 211 new cases per 100,000 people over the previous 14 days.

Vaccination data shows that approximately 2.9 million adults ages 16 and up are fully vaccinated in the state, meaning 47% of the population is protected from the virus. With the state's goal to fully reopen by June 30, Gov. Jay Inslee has set a target of 70% of the state being fully vaccinated.

However, there has been a softening or declining in demand for vaccines in some communities. Shah said the department is pivoting to more targeted outreach to improve vaccine access community by community.

Shah also addressed the state's updated mask order in line with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's new guidance that fully vaccinated people do not need to wear masks in both indoor and outdoor settings, trying to dispel some confusion while also calling it "frustrating" that the CDC updated their guidance without advising state and local partners ahead of time.

"The key message is that fully vaccinated people do not need to wear masks in most situations," Shah said. "If you're vaccinated, you're protected. But if you are unvaccinated, you are not protected, and you should and you have to keep wearing your mask. We want people to respect the rule of the room you are in. That means that counties and businesses can make their own rules about masking."

The state is expected to issue additional guidance for businesses later this week, according to Shah.

However, there has been some mixed messages from local, state and national health officials: King County is currently considering whether or not to end the indoor mask mandate based on COVID-19 case rates and vaccination coverage rates, according to a tweet posted Monday. Public health officer Dr. Jeff Duchin has encouraged businesses to keep masks mandates in place. 

Adolescent immunization is also off to a strong start with 28,000 children between the ages of 12 to 15  have received first dose of Pfizer vaccine as of May 16, equating to 7.4% of the newly eligible group.

"This is proof our state is stepping up," said Michele Roberts, who leads the COVID-19 vaccine planning and distribution team. "My 12 year old daughter already got her first shot, and as a mother I am breathing a sigh of relief."

While children under the age of 12 are still not eligible for the vaccine, Roberts said that getting all adults and older children in a household vaccinated should help protect the younger group.