Governor Inslee Cites Mandates as Reason for Continuing Emergency Order

Governor Jay Inslee is rejecting calls to give an end date to his statewide emergency declaration.

The Inslee's vaccination mandate for large events ends March 1st, while masking mandates for indoor and educational settings will end March 21st.

Inslee stated that the emergency order needs to be maintained to give Washington State access to federal funds, to protect people's right to wear a mask, and to add further protections for medical and long term care settings.

Inslee said the state still needs to get to the point where it no longer has so many mandatory, COVID-related restrictions before the emergency proclamation can be lifted.

"There is no dedicated end date to the emergency order." explained Inslee, "It's like the last two years; we will be following the science and making the decision. But there is more work to do after March 21st."

The two-year anniversary of the emergency order's declaration is Monday, February 28th.