King County issues directive, 'strongly urges' use of face masks indoors, even if vaccinated

King County's top health official issued a directive that "strongly urges" residents to continue using face masks indoors to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, even if they are fully vaccinated.

Dr. Jeff Duchin, health officer for Public Health – Seattle & King County, issued the directive Thursday following confusion and questions about whether fully vaccinated people needed to wear masks indoors. Businesses are being asked to voluntarily comply with the directive.

"Some may wonder why they should wear a mask if they are vaccinated, especially since we agree that COVID-19 vaccines give high protection against infection and spreading the virus, and unvaccinated people are the ones at risk to acquire and spread COVID-19. It’s because we have no way to know who is vaccinated and who isn’t, and it’s impractical for businesses to determine that," Duchin said in a news release. "If unvaccinated people do not wear masks, the risk for COVID-19 spread increases. From a practical and community health perspective, the most reliable way to ensure everyone is safe is for everyone to wear a face mask in indoor public spaces for a few more weeks, until we get vaccination rates higher and disease rates lower.”

The directive will apply until 70% of the county is fully vaccinated against the virus. According to the most recent data, approximately 57% of adults 16 and older in the county are vaccinated.

The new guidance from the county comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eased their guidelines to allow fully vaccinated people to go unmasked both indoors and outdoors.

But even as Washington has moved to align with the new CDC guidance and cases are declining across the state, the Washington Department of Health emphasized that local jurisdictions and health departments would be allowed to decide their own mask rules.

"The key message is that fully vaccinated people do not need to wear masks in most situations," said Secretary of Health Umair Shah in a Wednesday news conference. "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."

Other city and county officials voiced their support for Duchin's directive and continued mask wearing.

"Seattle has led the country with the lowest deaths, cases, and hospitalizations of COVID-19 because we have relied on the local public health experts and scientists," Mayor Jenny Durkan said. "The decisions we made saved countless lives. Seattle's goal is to keep our community safe and healthy in every way possible, and as more individuals and young people are seeking vaccinations, we know masking in indoor public spaces will continue to allow our community to have the highest level of protection."