King County: COVID mask mandate to end June 29

June 15, 2021 10:03 PM

Associated Press,

Posted: June 15, 2021 10:03 PM

Updated: June 15, 2021 10:20 PM

by Associated Press

SEATTLE (AP) — Health officials said Tuesday that 70% of eligible people in Washington state’s most populous county have received either the one-dose Johnson and Johnson COVID vaccine or both doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.

That means 70% of people 16 and older in the county will be fully vaccinated on June 29, according to Public Health – Seattle & King County, and the county’s mask mandate will end that day.

“Two weeks from today my local mask mandate will no longer apply,” Dr. Jeff Duchin, King County health officer, said in a statement. “We have drastically reduced the numbers of deaths, hospitalizations and the number of cases, and we can continue to do that to the extent that we continue to improve our vaccine coverage.”

The total population of King County, which includes Seattle, is about 2.2 million.

Gov. Jay Inslee has said Washington state will fully reopen, with no restrictions, at the end of June or when 70% of state residents 16 and older have one vaccine dose, whichever comes sooner.

Currently, 67.2% of state residents have at least one vaccine dose, according to the state Department of Health.