State Re-Opening Comes With a Great Big "But..."

June 30 is the day Washington state is officially re-opening, and Gov. Inslee is 'celebrating' by attending events in Tacoma and Spokane.

The Tacoma Event is called "Welcome Back Tacoma." Didn't know they went anywhere. But I digress.

While restaurants, bars, theaters and other public venues are reportedly now being allowed to operate at full capacity (like normal pre-COVID) there are some 'buts.'

One of them is the subject of masks. According to the Washington State Department of Health:

"Don’t forget your mask after June 30 – you may still need it even if you’re vaccinated."

That was a headline on the DOH website Wednesday.

They went on to say:

"The Secretary of Health’s mask order will remain in place even after June 30, which means that people who are not fully vaccinated need to continue to wear a face mask in public indoor settings even when things start to go back to normal as the state reaches a reopening milestone.

All people, regardless of vaccination status, are still required to wear masks in certain places, such as schools and health care settings. In most other settings, people who are fully vaccinated do not need to wear a mask.

Businesses and local authorities can set their own more protective mask requirements, even though some state restrictions are being lifted."

So the question becomes, are we really open again? We do understand health concerns. But otherwise, many people believed re-opening would be a return to normal, as life was prior to COVID. Even Gov. Inslee "promised" the state would re-open. His staffers did say, however, generally things would be normal.