County Mask Mandate Lifts Sunday, but State Rules for the Unvaccinated Remain

Contributed Photo/Mika Baumeister on Unsplash

From San Juan County

As of June 27, the San Juan County Health Officer Order requiring all customers — regardless of vaccination status — to wear masks inside businesses will end.

However, the state requires all unvaccinated individuals to wear masks inside businesses and other public spaces. There are some exceptions for children under 5 and those with some health conditions.

There are a few exceptions noted in the guidance, including while eating and drinking. Businesses are not required to actively investigate customer vaccine status.

Masks are not required outdoors, other than for unvaccinated individuals who are unable to maintain 6 feet of social distance.

There are distinct rules for businesses and their employees that are set by Washington State Labor & Industries. The main requirements are that unvaccinated employees are required to mask up and businesses are required to document the vaccination status of their staff. 

Questions

Q: Will the Governor lift all restrictions June 30? What are the details?

It is expected that a number of the Governor’s restrictions will be lifted at the end of June, but details have yet to be confirmed. The assumption is that most limits on business or event capacity will be removed, but those unvaccinated individuals will continue to be required to mask up in public spaces.

Q: Are there locations where state mask requirements will remain unchanged?

Everyone — regardless of vaccination status —will need to continue to mask up at schools, health care facilities, camps, and on public transit.

Q: How do I prove my vaccination status?

There may be situations where you may be asked to prove your vaccination status in order to unmask, like at work or at an event. You can prove this by showing your vaccine record card or a photo of it or a certificate of vaccination.

Q: What if I lost my vaccine record card?

Don’t worry. Wherever you got your vaccine, the provider reported the vaccine information to the Washington State Immunization Information System. This is your official immunization record and has your entire vaccine history. You can access this information online or through your phone.

Washington’s Department of Health has created a pathway to access this information called MyIR, or my immunization record. You can sign up for free by visiting www.MyIRMobile.com. Please note that verification to access these records is not immediate and only available in the English language currently. For help accessing MyIR or any other vaccination record questions, you can call the state DOH COVID-19 Hotline at 833-VAX-HELP or email [email protected].

Q: I haven’t received my vaccine yet, can I unmask too?

Nope, not yet. The Secretary of Health still has a mask order in place for people who are unvaccinated. If you are in
public, you are still required to wear a mask and socially distance yourself from others. This protects other unvaccinated people, children under 12, and others with conditions that prevent them from being vaccinated.

A large part of enforcing this in businesses and other public places will be on the honor system. We ask that those who are unvaccinated comply with the mask mandate in order to keep all our citizens and visitors safe this summer.

If you aren’t vaccinated and want to be, check out our website for resources to other island providers in order to make an appointment.

Q: I’m a business owner and I would like to enforce masking for unvaccinated people. Are there signs available?

Washington DOH has made some signs for this purpose. Check out all the resources DOH has put together by clicking this link.

Local Vaccination Rates

Our vaccination rates are worth a cheer! We are indebted to the amazing work of the Health & Community Services
Department and the many, many volunteers who helped us get to this point. And a huge thank you to all the vaccinated islanders who have helped make this community safer.

We are shifting our strategy away from hosting mass clinics to supporting the local providers on each of the islands.

The decreased demand among islanders is now at a level where local providers can meet the demand during regular clinic and pharmacy encounters.

We are optimistically anticipating Moderna to be approved for 12-17-year-olds this summer. Moderna is a much easier vaccine to work with logistically, and many local providers have Moderna available or are approved to receive it.

Thank you all, and happy summer!

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