Inslee Orders Face Coverings to Be Worn in Public to Help Stem Spread of Coronavirus

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OLYMPIA — Gov. Jay Inslee Tuesday announced a statewide mandate requiring facial coverings in public to slow the spread of the new coronavirus, as cases again begin to rise in Washington.

And for Yakima County — which has nearly as many COVID-19 cases as the state of Oregon and where hospital capacity has maxed out — Inslee ordered even more stringent requirements to make sure people cover their faces while at businesses.

The orders are set to take effect Friday.

The statewide mandate — which will be formally issued by State Health Secretary John Wiesman — requires people over the age of 5 to wear face coverings while at any indoor or outdoor space in public.

While children under 5 are exempt, the order recommends kids between the ages of 3 and 5 wear facial coverings.

Also exempt from the governor’s order: people who are deaf or hard of hearing, specifically in scenarios when they are communicating with another person.

And the order will recognize times where it is allowable for people to remove their masks, such as when they are eating at a restaurant, or engaged in a recreational activity either alone or with members of their household.



For Yakima County, Inslee went even further. The governor is set to issue an emergency proclamation that will specifically bar businesses from operating, or allowing customers to enter any business, unless that customer has a facial covering.

The governor’s exemptions, however, will also exist under this order.

Inslee announced on Saturday he would put in place an order on masks for Yakima County.

It comes as health officials try to get a handle on the increasing spread of the virus in the county of about 255,000 people. Yakima County through the end of Sunday had reported 6,326 cases of COVID-19, according to the state Department of Health. Yakima County remains in the first, most restrictive of the state’s four-part reopening plan.

Officials meanwhile are trying to keep infections down across the state as businesses reopen in phases as part of Inslee’s four-part recovery plan.

On Monday, Snohomish County reported its largest single-day number of confirmed COVID-19 case since April 9. County officials announced a total of 75 new cases.