Inslee To End All COVID Emergency Orders By Late October

OLYMPIA, WA — Washington's COVID-19 state of emergency will end next month, more than two-and-a-half years after Gov. Jay Inslee's initial declaration, removing all remaining proclamations and emergency orders related to the pandemic, the governor announced Thursday.

Washington confirmed the nation's first known infection in January 2020 and reported the first deaths linked to the virus at the end of February, on the same day Inslee declared a state of emergency. Widespread school closures and restrictions began in mid-March, followed by "stay at home" orders later in the month. Businesses reopened at full capacity in June 2021, and most indoor masking requirements ended this March.

In a news release Thursday, Inslee highlighted Washington's relatively low death rates, along with better tools available, including effective vaccines and therapeutic treatments. The governor's office noted that COVID-19 remains one of the deadliest infectious viruses in the U.S., killing 300 people across the nation each day and averaging 10 in Washington state.

"We’ve come a long way the past two years in developing the tools that allow us to adapt and live with COVID-19," Inslee said Thursday. “Ending this order does not mean we take it less seriously or will lose focus on how this virus has changed the way we live. We will continue our commitments to the public’s well-being, but simply through different tools that are now more appropriate for the era we’ve entered."

Inslee's office said close to three-quarters of the governor's 85 pandemic-related emergency orders have already ended, including broader mandates on face coverings. More than a dozen remaining orders will end on Oct. 27, followed by another 10 on Oct. 31, when the state of emergency will also expire.

“Governor Inslee’s rescission of these remaining emergency orders marks an important transition for the state of Washington, but that does not mean that COVID-19 is not in our state anymore,” said Dr. Umair Shah, the state Secretary of Health. “We must move forward from a pandemic response to adapting our behaviors to coexist with the COVID-19 virus. Through the continued diligence of Washingtonians, combined with access to resources like the Say Yes! COVID Test program, WA Notify, and Care-A-Van, we will continue our path to recovery.”

A separate face covering order from the Department of Health will remain intact, which requires masking in health care and long-term care settings. Inslee said vaccination requirements will end for health care workers and educators, but employers can choose to require them voluntarily. Vaccination will remain a condition of employment for workers at most state agencies.