Posted on 06/23/2020 4:20:32 PM PDT by USA Conservative
SEATTLE -- Washington state will require people to wear facial coverings in public settings, under a statewide public health order announced Tuesday by Gov. Jay Inslee in response to ongoing COVID-related health concerns.
The order, issued by Secretary of Health John Wiesman, takes effect Friday. The order requires face coverings when people are indoor in a public area, and outdoors in a public area when six feet of physical distancing can’t be maintained.
Washington joins several other states that already have statewide mask orders in place, including California, which issued its order last week.
"Even though we have been resourceful and committed, as we have reopened our economy ... we are now experiencing high activity of the virus," Inslee said.
Inslee again said Washingtonians need to practice physical distancing, wash their hands, get tested for any COVID-like symptoms and to stay home if sick.
Yakima County, which has been among the areas hardest hit by the outbreak, has even more stringent requirements under a separate proclamation issued by Inslee that also takes effect Friday. In addition to being covered by the statewide mandate on masks in public, there will now be a legal requirement that prohibits people from entering a place of business — either indoors or outdoors — without first donning a mask.
Under that same proclamation, businesses in the central Washington county are prohibited from allowing a customer to enter a business, or conduct business with a customer in any public space unless the customer is wearing a face covering.
There are exemptions for children under the age of 2 and for people who are deaf or have hearing loss. Facial coverings for children between the ages of 3 and 5 are strongly recommended, but not required under the orders.
People engaged in recreation alone or with household members and those eating out at restaurants wouldn’t have to wear masks as long as they are properly distanced from others.
The statewide order builds on a previous one from Inslee, that — since June 8 — has required workers to wear facial coverings unless they don’t interact with others on the job.
Last month, San Juan County became the first jurisdiction to impose a mask requirement that was enforceable by law, making it a misdemeanor for people to not wear a mask while in public. Brendan Cowan, a spokesman for the county, said in an email Tuesday that to date, no citations have been issued, just “lots of education and outreach.”
Several other jurisdictions — including King and Thurston counties — have issued their own face covering directives or have strongly urged residents to wear masks, though those counties have said that the efforts were focused more on education and that there were no civil or criminal penalties for violators.
A spokesman for Inslee said that violation of the statewide mask order is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to 90 days in jail and up to a $1,000 fine. Violation of the Yakima County proclamation is a gross misdemeanor, punishable by up to 364 days in jail and up to a $5,000 fine.
The move comes as Washington’s 39 counties are moving through a four-stage reopening plan.
As of Tuesday, 16 counties are in Phase 3, which allows group gatherings of up to 50 people, including sports activities, and allows restaurants to increase capacity to 75 percent. Gyms and movie theaters can reopen at half capacity during this phase. Eighteen counties are currently in Phase 2, which allows restaurants and taverns to reopen at half capacity with limited table sizes, hair and nail salons and barber shops to resume business, and retail stores to reopen for in-store purchases at 30% capacity. It also allows additional outdoor recreation and gatherings with no more than five people outside of a person’s household.
Three counties — Benton, Franklin and Yakima — remain in Phase 1, which only allows essential businesses to be open and limits restaurant service to takeout and delivery and allows limited outdoor recreation.
Two other counties — Chelan and Douglas — are also in a modified Phase 1 of reopening that allows some additional business activity.
More than 28,800 people in Washington state have tested positive for the virus and at least 1,276 have died. The virus causes mild to moderate symptoms in most patients, and the vast majority recover. But it is highly contagious and can cause severe illness and death in some patients, particularly the elderly and those with underlying health conditions.
I live in Connecticut where we required to wear masks inside Since early May, when the curve was pretty much flattening on its own. Over the last few weeks it has been very revealing to watch the same Karen’s on the local Facebook groups in May complaining about people not wearing masks, then switching to all Black Lives Matter for a few weeks, and now most of them have all switched back to you oh my God I went outside and saw someone walking on a trail in the woods and they weren’t wearing a mask, don’t they know they’re going to kill everybody. Basically the same talking points they had Back in April and May.
All it is is people who are just following the leaders on social media trying to look smart and walk, and unfortunately it is screwing everybody else over in the process.
Lemmings.
Bloomberg was never the Gov of NY
I’m beginning to run out of faith that things will ever get better. I’m at the end of my rope.
Yep. He closed down the whole state and now he and local cities/counties are crying because no money is coming in but yet the taxes continue. I’m sure he’ll raise them to make up the shortfall; blame Trump.
I have some funny things I paste on mine.
Correct.
Mayor of New York City which he hasn’t been for 6 years.
The one he wanted in that list was Cuomo.
Well plenty of people don’t do full face coverings. It makes me shake my head because I worked in genuinely dirty environments where the mask or respirator does not come off until you are out of the work zone.
Get out the red-blue map and you’ll have the mask map too.
Easier to fine law abiding citizens a 1000 bucks for not wearing a mask than put down the rioters and anarchists
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Rioters don’t have 1000 bucks, and no collateral to attach.
And no address, and no property to risk.
My hearing is a bit limited but not terrible (unless you ask my wife!). But even with me it helps to watch someone’s lips. And of course a good mask will muffle the person’s voice. The usual banter at the grocery store is sure down a lot.
= = =
I agree, and experience the same.
So, how does ME not wearing a mask help the situation?
Dimslee hears “difficult for deaf people” and says “Okay - they don’t have to wear a mask! Problem solved!!”
= = =
Nusance (CA) did the same thing.
I think you mean the soon-to-be State of MLK. Not to be confused with MLK, DC.
Masks also prevent people from smiling at someone approaching them. Bad all around.
Shock collars for those who aren’t complying with Big Brother wouldn’t surprise me.
Such malarky. To be effective against aerosol droplets a homemade mask would have to be around the thickness of a 600 thread count cotton sheet. It would also have to be fitted to so there are no gaps. Can you imagine how wearing such a mask would feel on a hot humid day? No mention either of how the reduction in O2 intake has an adverse effect.
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsnano.0c03252#
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