Washington's Facial Covering Mandate Begins Friday

SEATTLE, WA — Gov. Jay Inslee has announced a new statewide mandate requiring resident to wear masks or facial coverings in public spaces, or risk receiving a misdemeanor. Simultaneously, a second, stricter mandate has been announced for Yakima County, where case counts have exploded over recent weeks. Both mandates will go into effect Friday.

Under the first statewide mandate, all Washington residents are required to wear masks in public spaces, unless they are completely alone. That includes when residents are inside a store or a public space, while getting healthcare, riding public transportation, or when outdoors and unable to keep a physical distance of six feet between themselves and everyone else.

"Everybody can think of this as a new part of the etiquette in our state. I think of these face coverings in some sense as a statement," said Inslee. "When we wear a face mask, it is a statement that we care about other people enough to protect them from that potential virus."

The mandate does not preference any specific type of mask— any sort of cloth facial covering that goes over the mouth and nose will be accepted. Health officials say, that's enough to slow the spread of the virus down to where Washington needs it to be.

"Cloth face covering is anything from a scarf or bandana to a sewn mask with ties or straps that go around your head and behind your ears. It's important to take proper steps to ensure we are using these and handling them properly. The face coverings should sit snugly around your mouth and nose," said state Secretary of Health John Wiesman.

There are a few exceptions to the mandate, which will be made for:

• Those who cannot safely wear a mask. This includes those with respiratory issues who cannot breathe easily through the cloth.
• The deaf or hard of hearing, who need to be able to read lips to communicate.
• Children under the age of five are not required to wear masks, and children under two should not wear masks at all, as they can be a choking hazard.
• Anyone who has to remove a mask during recreation or when eating at a restaurant.

The second mandate, specific to Yakima County, will require businesses to enforce the mask mandate: businesses in Yakima County that allow customers inside without masks could be shut down, and even face fines of thousands of dollars. Yakima has seen massive growth in coronavirus cases recently. This week the county ran out of hospital space for patients, and has been shipping coronavirus patients to Seattle and other counties.

After Inslee announced the facial covering mandates, many state health officials have come forward to support the move, saying masks are critical to slow a recent uptick in infections that has arisen as many parts of the state reopen businesses and go back to work. They say, masks are the easiest way to prevent the spread of the virus in asymptomatic patients, and that increasing their use is a top safety priority. They also want to remind everyone that, it's important that the masks themselves be kept clean as well.

"Cloth face coverings should be washed frequently, ideally after every time you use them but certainly daily," said Wiesman. " If you are not able to wash it after each use you should wash your hands or use alcohol sanitizer immediately after putting it back on."

Meanwhile, Inslee says the state is hopeful that the mandate will encourage mask use, without the need for too much litigation.

"It is a misdemeanor not to comply with this order, but it is not our desire to have hard-working officers following people around on mask issues," said Inslee. "They have other things to deal with frankly, and we hope that people's common sense and recognition of the law and desire to help their fellow neighbors are going to carry the day here."

More information on the mandate and mask usage can be found at www.doh.wa.gov/masks.