To Mask Or Not To Mask is Suddenly The Question | UPDATED

Published 1:30 am Thursday, May 20, 2021

Note: This article has been twice updated from the version that appears in The Beachcomber’s May 20 print edition. The first updated article, written on May 19, after the print edition went to press, appears below.

The most recent update is as follows: On Thursday, May 20, Public Health Seattle King County announced that everyone age 5 and older, whether vaccinated or not, should continue to wear masks indoors in the county, and businesses are still directed to continue policies that encourage mask-wearing by both employees and customers. Businesses are exempted from this directive only if they are able to check everyone’s vaccination status upon entry.

The new rule will apply until at least 70% of the county’s population 16 and older are fully vaccinated.

In announcing the rule, Dr. Jeff Duchin, health officer for PHSKC, urged patience for a while longer.

“From a practical and community health perspective, the most reliable way to ensure everyone is safe is for everyone to wear a face mask in indoor public spaces for a few more weeks until we get vaccination rates higher and disease rates lower,” he said.

To read more about the director of PHSKC, visit publichealthinsider.com/2021/05/20/mask-directive-for-indoor-spaces.

Kerri Grace, an islander who has organized Masks for Vashon — an effort that has provided more than 14,000 high-quality face coverings to islanders since the start of the pandemic — said her organization supported King County’s announcement.

“The fastest way out of this is to keep the virus from spreading, which also reduces the rise of variants,” she said. “Masks are one of the best tools we have for that.”

For many on Vashon, the news was a bolt from the blue: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advised last Thursday that Americans who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus could stop wearing masks or maintaining social distance in most settings.

In unmasked appearances, both President Joe Biden and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee both cheered the decision — with Inslee saying that Washington would fully adopt the guidance and also ease capacity restrictions for fully vaccinated people to attend live performances, weddings, funerals and sporting events.

Both Biden and Inslee said that increased vaccinations would be key to continued progress against the coronavirus.

“We know that vaccines are fundamental to this next chapter of this journey, so we don’t have to rely on social distancing and restrictions,” Inslee said.

Moreover, Inslee said, he now plans to lift broad COVID restrictions in Washington by June 30, and said the reopening could come even sooner if the state reached a threshold of 70% of its population having received at least one shot of vaccine. Currently, 36% of Washingtonians are fully vaccinated.

Nationally and state-wide, masks are still required in health care settings and in all public transportation hubs, and while riding on all forms of public transportation, including ferries. Mask mandates for all will remain in place for schools, prisons and homeless shelters. (See EOC report, page 8.)

Still, locally, the easing of rules for vaccinated people was unexpected, as only a few weeks ago King County had come perilously close to a return to Phase 2 of the governor’s “Healthy Washington” plan, due to spiking case numbers.

On Monday, Public Health Seattle King County’s chief health office, Dr. Jeffrey Duchin, said that for now, Seattle and King County residents are strongly encouraged to continue wearing masks. He also encouraged business owners to keep policies in place that require that all workers and customers wear masks in indoor spaces.

Island health experts have also weighed in.

In an editorial in this week’s Beachcomber, VashonBePrepared’s Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) said that case numbers in King and Pierce Counties are still of concern — something that should be taken into consideration as islanders digest the new CDC and state guidance and look forward to a broader re-opening. (See page 6.)

Vashon has had a high mask and social distance compliance throughout the pandemic, and now has one of the highest rates of vaccination for any King County community.

Still, most islanders remained fully masked last weekend, as they went about their business in town — with many seemingly not even ready, at this point, to adopt the CDC’s prior guidance of April 27 that fully vaccinated people need not wear a mask outdoors in uncrowded settings.

Inslee’s announcement gave authority to business owners to decide if universal masking is still required in their places of business. On Vashon, business owners did just that.

Vashon Center for the Arts also interpreted the new guidance, in consultation with VashonBePrepared and the MRC, and decided to present the first event of its kind on the island: a special concert for vaccinated islanders only on May 29.

At Ace Hardware, a sign posted outside the entrance on Saturday said the Ace would proceed with caution after the CDC announcement, with masks still required for all customers in the store. Curbside service would remain available to those who were unwilling or unable to wear a mask, the sign added.

Clay Gleb, Vashon Thriftway owner, also said that for now, at least, masks are still required for all staff and customers at the store, as management waits for further guidance from Washington’s departments of health and labor and industries. Masks are also still required for all at Vashon IGA, as the store awaits further guidance, said store owner Shawn Hoffman.

But at Island Lumber, both unmasked customers, as well as a few unmasked employees, were spotted. Owner Earl Van Buskirk said the store was following current CDC guidance that had been endorsed by Inslee, though he said he would return to a “masks required” policy if it was mandated by King County.

“Whatever the local authorities say, we will abide by,” he said, adding that he too had felt burdened throughout the pandemic to enforce the state’s masking mandates. He cited that the example of national retailers including Target, Walmart and Costco, which have now lifted mandatory masking for all in their stores unless prohibited to do so by local laws.

Early Friday morning, Sarah Parsons St. Germain, who owns Sarah’s Salon on Vashon, announced via Facebook that masks were still a must at her salon.

“It is up to individual businesses and I am not interested in tracking who is or who is not vaccinated,” she wrote, adding a note of thanks to her clients for their support during the pandemic and saying she would reassess her decision when the state fully reopens.

Likewise, Vashon Island Growers Association quickly posted on Instagram that the Vashon Farmers Market would continue to require all customers to be masked until all local mandates were lifted.

An email also went out on Friday morning, from Granny’s Attic business manager Tim Johnson, stating firmly that Granny’s Attic would not relax their mask requirements for now.

Johnson, too, cited the burden on his staff that would be imposed by having to determine which customers were or were not vaccinated.

Johnson particularly expressed concern for unvaccinated customers, wearing masks, who might encounter maskless unvaccinated customers while thrift shopping.

“While we strongly and unapologetically support and encourage vaccination, we will not fail to protect the unvaccinated to the best of our ability,” Johnson said.

Cheryl Lubbert, who owns Nashi Orchards, said her businesses’ mask and social distance rules would also stay in place for visitors to the orchard’s tasting room, many of whom come from off-island.

Lubbert is also the president of Vashon Island Chamber of Commerce — the presenters of Strawberry Festival, which the chamber announced several weeks ago would take place this year on a smaller scale, with no outside vendors lining Vashon Highway.

Those plans will not change in light of Inslee’s push to reopen by June 30, she said.

The festival, set for July 16 to 18, will include a car parade, music stages in Vashon IGA’s parking lot, an antique car show to be held at Vashon Center for the Arts, and making Vashon Highway, in town, a pedestrian-only destination to shop and dine at local spots.

The Chamber, she said, had partnered with VashonBePrepared to plan a safe and low-key festival with a local focus.

“We’ve been smart and cautious all along,” Lubbert said. “I think we need to be smart and cautious this summer, too.”

Some retail owners, including Priscilla Schleigh, of Giraffe, and Claudia Kimball, of Kronos, said they planned to keep their “masks required” signs up outside their shops, for now, citing the difficulty in determining who was vaccinated or not and their determination to keep all their customers as safe as possible inside their small stores.

Other businesses, particularly dining establishments, welcomed Inslee’s plans to fully reopen the state within a matter of weeks. Both Gravy and The Ruby Brink have recently added extensive outdoor seating areas, with Gravy’s street-side tables already in place and Ruby Brink’s new patio set to open over Memorial Day weekend. Another eatery, Bramble House, has already welcomed diners to a new outdoor pavilion.

Janie Andrews, the owner of The Hardware Store Restaurant, said her team was enthusiastic by the updated CDC guidelines, but that all employees would continue to wear masks at the restaurant. The restaurant’s capacity remains at 50% with additional seating added outdoors.

For performance venues, the calculations are different.

The staff of Vashon Center for the Arts, said executive director Allison Halstead Reid, looks forward to having the ability to sell more tickets to events. Following a weekend of planning and consultation with VashonBePrepared’s MRC, VCA added a second concert by nationally recognized singer and songwriter Patterson Hood, whose limited capacity show for 70 socially distanced patrons on May 28 has already sold out. The second show, VCA announced on Monday, will take place on May 29 and allow 150 attendees, who must show proof of full vaccination to enter the concert. Masks are still required for everyone attending VCA’s performances and gallery events. (See page 9).

Vashon Theatre owner Eileen Wolcott — who has re-opened her theater and is also preparing to relaunch the Night Light Drive-In at Open Space for Arts & Community over Memorial Day weekend — said she would be fine with fully vaccinated people slipping off their masks while watching a film in her theater, but still hopes everyone will still enter her theater with a mask. She said she’ll stay masked behind the concessions counter, too, despite being fully vaccinated.

For now, the theater’s social distancing policies are still in place, with movie-goers spaced from others by six feet in all directions, she said.

Wolcott, who has repeatedly pivoted throughout the past year to contract and expand her business with ever-changing guidelines, also expressed her optimism about the now suddenly hopeful trajectory of the pandemic.

“Everything is changing and we are looking forward to living with ease by summer,” she said.