King County Reinstates Mask Mandate For Indoor Settings

SEATTLE — King County's top health official formally reinstated a masking directive Thursday, urging continued use of face coverings in indoor spaces, regardless of vaccination status, despite updated federal guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. Jeff Duchin, health officer for King County, detailed his decision Thursday and addressed recent confusion over conflicting messages since the CDC's abrupt change of course last week.

"I want to start, first of all, by acknowledging the uncoordinated and counterproductive messaging around CDC's recent mask guidance," he said. "I think there was poor planning regarding the rollout and communication of that guidance by the CDC, which is uncharacteristic, and it has led to unnecessary and avoidable confusion and frustration for the public."

The directive — effective immediately — applies to all residents, ages five and older, and urges businesses to keep the same masking policies they had in place since the original order in May 2020.

"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," Duchin said. "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. 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 latest directive is virtually identical to the one it replaced, seeking voluntary compliance from business owners and the public at large.

"We're not asking people to do anything new, additional or different, but just to keep doing what's been working well for us and continue to wear masks in indoor public spaces as we vaccinate more people, get COVID-19 rates as low as we can, and therefore lower the risk for everyone as much as possible before we lift the indoor mask requirements in the near future," Duchin said. "Like much else of what we've done to be one of the most successful counties in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic, working together for both the individual and the common good continues to be the best way to protect us all."

Though adherence remains voluntary, Duchin said the county's previous directive saw wide acceptance over the entire last year and he was hopeful that would continue.

"We did very well with the past directive; we did not have to do any enforcing," he said. "Retail, restaurants, grocers — they know what to do. I don't have any reason to think we would need a higher level of enforcement for them to continue to do the same thing they've been doing."

Learn more about the indoor mask mandate on the Public Health Insider blog

Earlier in the week, Duchin had hinted that the mask mandate could be renewed and made an early plea for continued compliance. The new directive will remain in place until King County hits the 70 percent mark for fully vaccinated residents 16 and older. Right now, that number sits at about 57 percent, officials said, and is on track to hit the target by June 30, when the state will fully reopen.

"We have made enormous progress, but there are still hundreds of thousands among us who are at risk and are putting others at risk," said King County Executive Dow Constantine. "This is the moment when our community can turn the corner into a summer of rebuilding - but recovery depends on every person in King County doing their part, getting their shot, and taking the simple precautions needed to stamp out the virus."

In reaching the decision, public health officials listed several factors they considered, which bolstered the need for masking a little bit longer:

• While King County vaccination rates are leading the nation, large segments of our population are not yet fully vaccinated.
• Rates of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations remain elevated in King County.
• Gathering indoors without masks with no way of knowing who is and who is not vaccinated raises the level of risk for COVID-19 spread for customers and workers.
• The burden of COVID-19 is disproportionately higher in some parts of our community, due to underlying causes such as living and working conditions and access to vaccine. This includes people in neighborhoods in south and southeast King County, younger age groups, and residents of color.
• Many people with certain health conditions don’t have the option of getting vaccinated to protect themselves. They rely instead on us as a community to protect them.
• Children 12-15 years and young adults only recently became eligible for vaccination.

While the CDC's guidance last week lifted indoor masking requirements for fully vaccinated people nationwide, the agency's director and state health leaders agreed that county health jurisdictions retain the authority to make decisions based on local circumstances.

The Washington State Department of Health is working with the governor's office to finalize broader guidance, which will apply to counties without local masking directives in place.

King County's directive applies to all indoor public spaces, including retail shops, grocery stores, government buildings and all other spaces accessible to the public. It does not apply to businesses and offices with limited access, or any outdoor spaces.

Read the full text of the new masking guidance below: