Washington State To Lift Indoor Mask Mandate March 21st

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) – Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has announced that the statewide indoor mask mandate, one of the few left in the country, will lift on March 21, including at schools and child care facilities.

And starting on March 1, vaccine verification, or proof of a negative test, will no longer be required for large events.

Masks will still be required in health care settings and at long-term care facilities and prisons and jails.

Private businesses and local governments that want to require masks for employees, customers or residents can still require them.

Like the rest of the country, Washington – which first imposed a statewide mask mandate in June 2020 – has seen a steady decline in both cases and hospitalizations since the height of the omicron surge last month.