OLYMPIA, Wash. – Governor Jay Inslee says the current COVID-19 state of emergency and corresponding orders will end on October 31st.
He told a news conference on Thursday, September 8th, that thousands of lives were saved by the 85 emergency orders he put in place since the start of the pandemic.
“That was and is our priority is to save lives in the state of Washington,” said Inslee. “Each one was tailored to do that and I’m pleased to report that they have been significantly effective.”
Most of those orders have been retired but those that remain in effect will expire by the end of October.
The vaccine requirements for health care workers, first responders and others not employed by the state will also end.
But Inslee says many state workers will still have to be vaccinated.
“We are the management. So this isn’t done because of an emergency order, it’s done just because we are the employer. And the employer gets to make decisions in collaboration with the workers to keep them safe,” said Inslee. “We hate to lose people that, you know, they miss a day of work. Sometimes we have to tie up a ferry boat because someone’s got COVID.”
He says the world has changed dramatically in recent months, but we’ll continue to confront the virus with “different tools” that are more appropriate for where we are with COVID-19 today.
Inslee and the state health secretary are reminding the public that masks and vaccines will continue to keep people safe.