Leaving your home Friday, Whatcom County? Don’t forget to wear a mask when in public
In case you forgot Whatcom County, you’re being urged to wear a cloth face covering when leaving your home starting Friday, May 22, to help fight the spread of COVID-19.
The request comes via a Whatcom County Health Department directive, which asks people to cover their faces when they’re in any public space, indoor and outdoor, where they’ll be within 6 feet of others they don’t live with. It also applies to certain shared workplaces.
The directive is meant as a strong recommendation, which means people who don’t voluntarily wear masks can’t be ticketed or arrested for not doing so, according to Erika Lautenbach, director of the Whatcom County Health Department.
King County’s mask directive started on Monday, May 18, and Canadians also are being urged to cover their faces when going out in public.
Masks, or other cloth face coverings such as scarves and bandannas, are needed because the new coronavirus, which causes the COVID-19 illness, spreads easily by respiratory droplets, the Whatcom County Health Department said Monday, May 18, in a news release about the directive.
“We know that study after study and research shows that masks are an effective strategy. We don’t have a lot of tools. We don’t have treatment and we don’t have a vaccine,” Lautenbach said of the respiratory illness.
“But we do have hygiene measures. We have social distancing. We have masking and we have rapid testing and case contacts,” she said to the Bellingham City Council on Monday, May 18.
The Whatcom County Health Department, at the start of April, recommended that people wear cloth masks when in public. The health directive issued earlier this week is another step, but it’s not a mandate.
“We want to be able to use all the tools available to us, given how limited our options are,” Lautenbach said of the battle against the new coronavirus. “We have seen only sporadic use of masks around the county, even with a recommendation and guidance in place, so we want to again highlight for the community how important it is to wear masks when you’re out and about.”
Public health officials have said they’re strongly urging people to wear masks when in public to maintain the gains brought about by the statewide stay-at-home order as well as limiting transmission of the new coronavirus ahead of summer and as more businesses reopen and people return to work under Gov. Jay Inslee’s phased “Safe Start.”
The new directive doesn’t apply to children 2 years old and younger and people who may have difficulty covering their faces or removing a mask because of a disability.
The directive stays in place until Whatcom County public health officials decide face coverings are no longer needed because of COVID-19.
Individuals and businesses can learn more at whatcomcounty.us/masks, including how to correctly wear a mask, which should snugly cover the nose and mouth. Instructions are in English, Spanish and Russian.
The website also provides guidance to businesses and employers, as well as instructions on how to make your own mask, including clear-windowed masks provided by the Hearing, Speech and Deaf Center.
Efforts are underway to obtain masks for those who are vulnerable and businesses that might not otherwise be able to afford them.
Riveters Collective, a Bellingham civic-action group, also has been sewing cloth masks for vulnerable people in the community. The group said it has sewn more than 3,000. Details are at riveterscollective.org.
Conterra, a Bellingham company that makes equipment for police, fire, military and mountain rescue, is offering a free kit, not including cloth, for those who want to make their own masks. It also is selling masks it makes for $6 each at conterra-inc.com.
