Vaccine Verification Rules End Tuesday In King County

SEATTLE — A public health order mandating restaurants, bars, gyms and other venues to verify the vaccination status of their patrons officially ends Tuesday, more than four months after the requirements took effect across Washington's most populous county.

King County officials announced the rule last September and implemented the change on Oct. 25 in the wake of the delta-fueled surge in COVID-19 cases and as an added precautionary measure heading into the winter months. At the time, the county said it would reevaluate the need for the rule within six months.

The mandate required customers and visitors to provide proof they were fully vaccinated or recently tested negative for COVID-19 before they could participate in a broad array of indoor activities, including dining, concerts and shows, and large outdoor events with 500 or more people in attendance. Even as the order expires, business owners will still have the option to require proof of vaccination voluntarily.

King County leaders announced the pending removal of the policy in mid-February, citing improving metrics and growing vaccination rates across the region.

Following a record-breaking surge in infections and hospitalizations from the highly contagious omicron variant, daily case counts peaked on Jan. 10 in King County and have kept up a sharp decline in the weeks since.

"From the beginning of this pandemic, our aim has been to protect the health of our community and save lives," King County Executive Dow Constantine said in a February news conference. "Our public health experts believe that now is the appropriate time to lift vaccine verification, based on high rates of vaccine coverage and the decrease in new cases and hospitalizations across the county. We are moving in the right direction, and can continue taking additional steps toward recovery."

March will be a month full of changes in Washington's pandemic journey, with Gov. Jay Inslee announcing Monday that the state would remove its indoor mask mandate for public spaces and schools by March 12 — more than a week earlier than initially anticipated. Constantine confirmed King County would follow the same timeline and had no plans to extend its local masking orders.

This week also marks the second anniversary of the first confirmed COVID-19 deaths in the U.S., identified in Kirkland on Feb. 29, 2020.