With end to mask mandate in sight, Whatcom health officials ask for continued vigilance

Gov. Jay Inslee on Thursday announced plans to lift indoor masking mandates on March 21, but the Whatcom County Health Department reminded residents to remain vigilant about safety measures with COVID-19 case and hospitalization rates still high.

“In order to continue to push rates down to safe levels before safety measures are eased on March 21, we urge our fellow residents of Whatcom County to continue to be responsible, and take the steps we know work: use high-quality well-fitting masks, get vaccinated or boosted if eligible, isolate and get tested when sick,” Whatcom County Co-Health Officer Dr. Greg Thompson told The Bellingham Herald in an email.

Relaxing the indoor mask mandate will come nearly seven months after the governor reimposed requirements for indoors.

“As Whatcom County health officers, we will be watching the situation closely,” he wrote. “It is unlikely that our guidance will differ significantly from the statewide guidance unless Whatcom County has unique circumstances that are significantly different from the statewide situation.”

But at this point, Whatcom, like most of the rest of the state, is seeing encouraging signs. As of data released Wednesday, Feb. 16, on the Washington State Department of Health COVID-19 Data Dashboard, Whatcom County’s weekly infection rate is less than half what it was mid-January, when the omicron surge was at its peak. Hospitalization rates also were down by about a third, the state’s data shows.