Gov. Inslee will rescind remaining COVID-19 emergency orders effective Oct. 31
After more than two years of emergency proclamations related to COVID-19 in Washington state, Gov. Jay Inslee announced Thursday that all remaining orders will be rescinded on Oct. 31.
“We don’t need to spend a lot of time reflecting on the journey, except to know we do have some more work to do against COVID, the effort against COVID will continue, but the necessity of an emergency order in order to accomplish those mission statements is no longer necessary,” Inslee told a room of reporters at the Capitol building in Olympia.
Only 10 emergency orders are currently still in effect, after the rescission of 12 other orders at the end of July. In total, Gov. Inslee enacted 85 orders since Feb. 29, 2020, when the underlying order declaring the state of emergency in Washington went into effect. That order also will be rescinded Oct. 31, effectively ending the pandemic response in Washington.
The most significant of the remaining orders in place is proclamation 21-14 on vaccines, which requires state workers, staff at educational facilities, and health care employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. This has been one of the most controversial emergency provisions, as many Republicans, including Rep. Jim Walsh from Aberdeen and Sen. John Braun from Centralia, have been very vocal against the requirement from the beginning.
While most Washington state agencies will continue to have vaccination mandates in place after the governor’s order is rescinded, workers in health care and education settings will no longer be required to be vaccinated. However, employers can still choose to have vaccination requirements in place if they wish to do so.
Additionally, protections for workers who receive COVID-19 vaccinations and have side effects will be lifted, and employees who choose to quarantine for the recommended amount of time after contracting COVID-19 will no longer have protection from adversarial action by their employers.
Workers in healthcare and long-term care facilities will still be required to wear face masks, a requirement issued by the Washington State Department of Health. Workers in correctional facilities will be required to wear masks under specific circumstances.
Despite the orders ending, public health officials are still encouraging Washingtonians to take precautions such as getting the updated vaccination and wearing masks, Inslee said.
This story was originally published September 8, 2022 at 2:08 PM with the headline "Gov. Inslee will rescind remaining COVID-19 emergency orders effective Oct. 31."
