Capitol Hill mask fashion may never go away
There is a new date for the great un-masking of Washington state. And this time, King County and Seattle are clearly lined up to join after Gov. Jay Inslee announced this week that the state will drop its indoor masking requirements following revised guidelines from the CDC.
Starting March 12th, face masks will no longer be required indoors in Seattle, across King County, and throughout Washington. Here’s Public Health on the new COVID-19 milestone:
Based on our current downward hospitalization and case rates, our review of CDC’s guidance, and today’s state action, King County’s local indoor mask order will end concurrently with the state’s order–after March 11, 2022. In addition, King County will not be extending a local mask order for schools and childcares beyond the state’s order.
“We believe that ending the indoor mask order ten days earlier than the state previously announced will not make a significant difference for our local King County disease trends,” local health officials said in the Public Health announcement.
CHS reported here on the mid-February setting of March 21st for the state’s original planned lifting of the mandate. But that announcement came muddled with uncertainty from Seattle and King County officials about whether restrictions would be kept in place locally and in area schools.
The March end of masking requirements in Washington will mark a period of around 600 days of mandatory indoor masking in the state. Washington didn’t put statewide mask requirements into place until late June 2020.
The county’s system still puts our area’s transmission level at “substantial” but under the federal guidelines, we’re considered OK for the mask-free status (Image: Public Health)
New federal guidance released last week calls only for indoor mask usage in areas with high COVID-19 activity. Public Health said the county is now classified at a “low COVID-19 community level” under current metrics.
State requirements for masks at outdoor events with more than 500 people are also ending.
Masking will still be required in spaces like health care facilities and on public transit and school buses. Some private businesses and cities may choose to continue with masking requirements.
And some of us may choose to continue wearing masks long after the pandemic is “over.”
Meanwhile, another COVID-19 milestone has arrived. March 1st brings the end of mandatory vaccination card requirements in King County and Seattle after four months of enforcement. Some Capitol Hill venues — like the doctor-owned Doctor’s Office on E Olive Way — said they were considering continued vaccination requirements for customers despite the end of the state restrictions.
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I’m not asking people to change their whole lives around those of us who need more protection. I’m asking you to just wear your mask around others, and maybe even get vaccinated if you haven’t. That’s literally all I’m asking. What’s so hard about that?
Praise Jesus or Jah or Allah or whoever
Honestly thank god made no sense to have it that far out. Let’s move on already.
What could POSSIBLY GO WRONG?!?!!???
Am I the only one who has zero intention of unmasking?
There is no world in which I will feel comfortable going unmasked into public venues like mass transit or the grocery in the near term.
In short, I’m not unmasking. Period.
And what is with this decision which has apparently, and quietly, been made that the pandemic is over?
Yes, cases overall are down, the omicron surge is largely over, but we are still in the midst of this thing and need to be careful.
Mass unmasking is a bad idea.
yes you are probably one of the only ones.
with that level of risk aversion, you must never ride in cars.
good luck remaining stuck while the rest of us move on. I hope you can take your life back at some point soon. best wishes.
I know one thing – I, personally, have not really been sick in a couple of years! I’ve had two instances of feeling a bit drained for a day but felt better the following one – it has made me definitely think about my potential mask use in the future. On public transportation and airplanes for sure, COVID or no COVID.
PeeDee, you are not the only one. I plan to keep masking and a lot of my friends are too. I worry this will make it even less likely that there will be masking on public transit, which is mandatory, but commonly ignored. I think it’s too soon.
Feel free to wear a mask whenever you like! As for me – with the end of the requirement I won’t be wearing one. I find masks alienating and difficult to communicate with others while wearing, and my personal risk assessment tells me the cons outweigh any pros.
This attitude — that masks are some sort of massive burden that’s been imposed upon us all — is **absolutely baffling** to me.
First of all, we’re talking about a piece of fabric over your mouth, not some sort of space suit to be uncomfortably worn when out in public (which, to those promoting this idea, is conceptualized as akin to Sandra Bullock in the movie Gravity).
This is ridiculous.
Why is **checks notes** a piece of fabric over your mouth seen as such a burden?
Slow your roll my friend. I didn’t say masks are a massive burden. I noted a couple of the downsides of masks (yes there are downsides). Once masks are no longer compulsory, I will choose not to wear one. If your cost/benefit analysis is different, please feel free to choose differently.
The attitude that wearing a mask at all times isn’t somehow unnatural is completely against human nature. No human society anywhere in the world throughout all of history has forced every member of its civilization to wear masks around each other at all times for all time. It’s never been done, anywhere. To act like it’s “no big deal” to completely re-invent the very nature of human interaction and socialization is incomprehensible.
I’m fine with unmasking where permitted. It’s been three years and I haven’t gotten it yet, despite going to restaurants and bars since my vaccine and booster. My friends who’ve gotten COVID despite being vaccinated describe it like a bad cold, which is something I and most people can live with. And I work from home, can’t remember the last time I’ve even come across any children, and get my groceries and most other things delivered, so I’m only ever around others in bars/restaurants (people who are presumed to be cool with the risk), or outdoor settings. And I have home rapid testing kits, so if I do feel sick I can test myself. I can see why others might choose to stay masked, though, based on their situations, and you’re definitely not alone, given that I see tons of people on the streets in masks despite the fact that outdoor transmission risks are very low.
I don’t really agree with your risk assessment, but at least you seem to have thought about things.
Which is more than those amongst us who seem to be nothing but sponges for the latest right wing agitprop comparing masks — and let’s be clear here, we’re talking about a piece of fabric over your mouth and nose — as if they are the same as being forced to wear a pink triangle or yellow star.
It’s a **piece of fabric** over your mouth and nose.
Also: I 100% agree. Outdoors is one of the few places I feel safe unmasked, and see people wearing masks despite the extremely low chance of transmission…and giving me dirty looks because of this. Ridiculous. And these same people likely go to restaurants where we have these ridiculous rules of unmask when sitting down/dining but mask when standing up — as if the virus cares that one is dining.
With this comment, you’re essentially proving that it’s all political in nature for you. You can’t comprehend an argument against wearing masks that isn’t some sort of weird “right wing agitprop.”
You (and anyone else) are welcome to continue masking. Nobody’s going to stop you. But the science points to a coming end to the Omicron surge, our rapidly moving into an endemic state, and the fact that even with masks and shots, people are still getting sick.
And if we all unmask and another variant crops up, we’ll just go back to the mask. The same way we did for Delta and Omicron. We have the tools and we know how to handle a surge. It’s time to start re-living our lives.
Zero The Hero.
I will continue to mask up!
I will be walking around maskless the second I’m able. If a business wants to enforce them, that is their right, but I won’t go there.
It’s going to be a rough transition out of COVID for some people to realize they won’t be able to control how others live their lives anymore
Almost 2000 Americans are dieing every day. Don’t you care? We should all be in lockdown. Mask forever. No leaving your home except for emergencies until there are zero deaths and cases.
And they are nearly all unvaccinated….
Personally, as a triple vaccinated person with no risk factors, I feel safe enough myself and feel that my risk of spreading COVID will be low enough that I can forgo masking when and where it’s acceptable. I will not judge those who wish to continue, nor will I be bothered if some businesses take wish to continue. I’ll be fine with respecting their wishes.
As another poster already said, we are rapidly trending out of epidemic but if the situation changes, we can always go back to universal masking.
Good luck with that lol. There’s also a ton of people dying from suicide and overdose, yet no one seems to care about that. Life is hard, people will always die from something. At some point, you gotta live your life. Don’t get upset at others because they don’t want to be forced to stay inside forever.