Statewide Mask Mandate – effective 8/23/21
August 18th, 2021 | Worth Wheeler
The Governor of Washington announced a new statewide mask mandate yesterday that goes into effect on 8/23/21. The mandate applies to everyone, both unvaccinated and vaccinated people.
The Governor stopped short of mandating masks outdoors, but the Washington State Department of Health is strongly recommending we all also wear masks in crowded outdoor settings, such as outdoor concerts, fairs, and farmers markets, which are causing super-spreader events.
The announcement comes amid a surge of COVID cases fueled by the fast spreading delta variant, which is now blamed for every county in the state falling within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s “substantial” or “high” transmission categories. The variant is also blamed for stretching Washington hospitals to the limit and causing ICUs to fill up. In fact, state health officials say Washington recently broke its COVID hospitalization record that was set in December.
This means that at our next In-Person Worship gathering on August 29th, masks will be required. Please take a moment to review Weekly Gatherings page online to find our most recent guidelines and procedures.
I understand that this is frustrating to many of us and feels like a setback. But please remember that as a community we are here to share the love of Christ in our neighborhood, and an important way we can do that is by doing everything in our power to keep everyone as safe as possible.
We’ll get through this!
Pastor Worth+