Gov. Jay Inslee announced Thursday that starting Nov. 15, people in Washington state will need to either provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test in order to attend large events.
The new order — which Inslee’s staff said is modeled after similar policies in California and King County — applies to indoor events with 1,000 or more attendees and outdoor events that have more than 10,000 attendees. Events will be required to verify full vaccination status or a negative test within the last 72 hours for all attendees who are age 12 or older.
The governor’s office said the requirement applies to ticketed or registered events like conventions, concerts, sporting events and fairs. Religious services or events that are held on K-12 school grounds are exempt from the order.
King County — home to Seattle — issued an order that takes effect Oct. 25 and requires proof of vaccination or a negative test for outdoor events with 500 or more people, indoor entertainment and recreational events and indoor dining at restaurants and bars.
The latest requirement in Washington comes as a crucial deadline for a COVID-19 vaccine mandate approaches Monday that requires more than 800,000 workers in the state to either be fully vaccinated or have received an exemption and job accommodation in order to keep their jobs.
The governor’s Office of Financial Management on Monday released updated numbers that show nearly 90% of the 61,821 state workers covered by the mandate have been vaccinated as of last week, up from just 49% a month ago. (AP)
