Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has brought back a statewide mask requirement and ordered all public, private and charter school employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine as subject to their employment.
The governor’s announcement Wednesday comes as cases of COVID-19 cases surge and Washington’s hospitals fill up, even as the state contends with a shortfall of health care staffers. The indoor mask mandate is effective on Aug. 23 and includes those vaccinated and unvaccinated, according to Inslee’s office.
Exemptions to the mask requirement are limited to office spaces not easily accessible to the public and small, private indoor gatherings where everyone is vaccinated. Those working alone indoors with no public face-to-face interaction are also exempt.
As cases rose and the delta variant surged in Washington, Inslee earlier this month ordered most state workers — and hundreds of thousands of health care employees — to be fully vaccinated by Oct. 18 or lose their jobs. Wednesday’s order expands that requirement to K -12 educators, school staff, coaches, bus drivers, school volunteers and others working in school facilities who will have to be fully vaccinated by the same date. Higher-education staff and contractors also fall under the mandate, as well as certified, licensed and contracted early learning and child-care providers. (Seattle Times)
