Many Hoping Governor Will Say Drop The Masks Yakima!

Will this be the week Governor Jay Inslee announces an end date to the state's indoor masking mandate? Last week the governor told residents to keep wearing masks indoors and he didn't say anything about unmasking kids in schools.

Washington is the only state on the West Coast with no end in sight

Only a handful of state's still have the mandates. Washington State is the only state on the west coast with an indoor masking mandate that has no end date. California's indoor mandate ends February 15. Governor Inslee told reporters last week he's still looking at data before announcing a date. He also says he won't be influenced by what other states are doing.

So will we hear an end date to the indoor mask mandate this week?

So during his Wednesday press conference this week we could hear a date, possibly in March as to when the masking mandate will end. But will kids still have to wear masks in schools? Chris Reykdal, the state's superintendent of public instruction says he believes now is the time to "eliminate the statewide masking requirement for students and allow for a decision by local health officials." It's unknown if the governor agrees with Reykdal.
Yakima County Commissioner Amanda McKinney says she's upset the governor didn't talk about masks in schools. She's hoping to put pressure on the governor's office to get him to address the issue possibly this week.

Governor did say the large event mask mandate ends February 18

During his Wednesday press conference the governor did say the masking mandate for large events will end on February 18 the same day elective surgeries can resume in Washington.