Washington reissues indoor mask mandate for all residents regardless of vaccination status

Get ready to mask up, again. Washington is reimposing its indoor mask mandate starting Aug. 23 for all residents regardless of vaccination status as cases of COVID-19 rise in the state, largely driven by the more-transmissible delta variant and slowing vaccination rates.

Gov. Jay Inslee announced Wednesday that the existing statewide mask mandate would be expanded to include vaccinated individuals in most indoor public settings. Children younger than five are not required to follow the mandate.

"[Vaccination] is non-uniform across the state of Washington. Some of our areas are in the 80% plus [vaccination] range and some are in the low 30s. The fact that there is a 50% difference from community to community poses a danger to the whole state of Washington," Inslee said during a news conference Wednesday. "For those that are frustrated by any of our actions during the pandemic, we need to be clear why this has happened: it's because not enough people are getting vaccinated."

There are some exceptions when face covering will not be required, including office spaces that are not easily accessible to the public where individuals are vaccinated and when working alone in a vehicle with no face-to-face interaction. Private indoor gatherings where all attendees are vaccinated are also exempt from the new mandate.

All unvaccinated workers will still be required to wear a mask while on the job, even if their position is not public facing. The mandate will not apply for indoor sports when a person is actively playing. However they will be required to wear a mask when on the bench or sidelines.

Additionally, the Washington Department of Health (DOH) is recommending that residents wear face masks in crowded outdoor situations like farmers markets, fairs and music festivals. The new recommendation follows after more than 200 attendees of the Watershed Music Festival at the Gorge tested positive for the virus. The festival was the state's largest live music event since the pandemic began in 2020.

The new mandate comes amid a fifth surge of COVID-19 cases in Washington. Over the last seven-day period, the state averaged 256.7 new cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 residents, and every county is currently listed as having high levels of community transmission according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Inslee said Wednesday that 95% of the hospitalizations in the state are among the unvaccinated. Approximately 2 million people above the age of 12 and older have not started their vaccine series and are still unprotected against the virus, according to Secretary of Health Umair Shah.

The new surge in cases and hospitalizations caused Inslee to also issue a vaccine mandate for all Washington K-12 school employees and childcare workers. Vaccination is also a condition of employment for state employees, contractors and workers in private-sector health care facilities.

"I'm convinced that we are at the point in this pandemic that without these vaccine requirements we will susceptible to new variants," Inslee said. "This is the right thing to do to save lives in the state of Washington."

Current projections from UW's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) show that the state could see 540 to 990 fewer COVID-19 deaths by November if universal masking was attained.

"We know that masks work, as tool it has more immediate impact, and that is what we need to turn the tide across our state," Shah said. "We hope this is an interim step and one can be lifted as soon as we see things turn around. That time is unfortunately not today."

Last month, Inslee issued a recommendation that all residents, regardless of vaccination status, should resume wearing masks in indoor public spaces amid a statewide surge in cases. He stopped short of a blanket mandate at the time, acknowledging that many people got vaccinated to no longer wear masks.

"It is unfortunate that we are in this position because we have the tools to beat this … but there are too many people who, although they have access to a free life-saving vaccine, have not availed themselves of that," Inslee said when issuing the recommendation.

While the recommendation fell short of a legal requirement, several counties in the state issued their own indoor mask mandates in the weeks that followed including Snohomish and Kitsap counties. On Wednesday, Director Dr. Anthony Chen of the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department also issued a countywide mask directive for all residents 5 years and older in Pierce County.

King County officials held off on issuing another mandate, but Public Health Officer Dr. Jeff Duchin did recommend that all residents 5 years of age and older continue wearing face coverings indoors.

"Higher levels of Delta virus transmission increase the risk for all of us, but we know that wearing a high-quality, well-fitting face mask or respirator is a simple and effective way to reduce risk for individuals and for our community," Duchin said in July. "Universal masking in indoor, public spaces provides a more reliable way to ensure everyone is safer for now as we monitor the current increasing disease trends."

Other major cities reinstated mask mandates last month when cases of the delta variant started to spike, including seven counties in the Bay Area and Los Angeles County. Other metros like New York City have started requiring proof of vaccination for most indoor activities like dining and going to the gym.

In addition to the state's new mandate, federal officials announced Tuesday they will extend the face mask requirement for people on airline flights and public transportation until Jan. 18, 2022.