Wondering why Whatcom isn’t enforcing its face-covering directive? These are the reasons
The Whatcom County Health Department is once again stressing the importance of wearing masks when out in public to help drive down the number of new cases of COVID-19.
The county has been in Phase 2 of Gov. Jay Inslee’s “Safe Start” plan, but public health officials are expressing concern about a surge in new cases that could pose a challenge to Whatcom being given the OK to go to Phase 3 soon.
Whatcom needs to wait until at least June 26 before it can apply to move to Phase 3.
Whatcom County has had a mask directive in place since May 22 that asks people to cover their nose and mouth when they’re in any public space, indoor and outdoor, where they’ll be within 6 feet of others they don’t live with.
But posts on social media make it clear that not all people are following the directive. Others wonder why the Whatcom County Health Department isn’t enforcing the mask directive, which is intended to help limit the spread of the new coronavirus.
People who don’t voluntarily wear masks can’t be ticketed or fined for not doing so, public health officials have said.
The current directive isn’t a mandate. It’s “a strong statement by our health officer,” explained Erika Lautenbach, director of the Whatcom County Health Department, in a media briefing on Friday, June 19.
Two, the health department doesn’t have enough staff to do so.
Its 102 employees are busy helping businesses navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, including as they reopen, and managing needs related to quarantine and isolation, outbreaks, interviewing people who test positive for the respiratory illness and finding others with whom they had contact, doing drive-thru testing, and handling the other responsibilities it has as a health department, according to Lautenbach.
“So the idea that we would be responsible or in a position to be able to follow up on every complaint about people who aren’t wearing masks is both logistically and staffing-wise impossible from our perspective,” she said.
Sixteen states have required people to wear face coverings while in public, with California being the most recent one. Washington state hasn’t issued such a mandate, so that kind of decision would still need to be made at the local level.
“Our health officer could write a mandate. At this point, we have not chosen to do so because of the logistical and staffing issues. That is an option if needed and if we were able to figure out how to enforce it,” Lautenbach said.
While the county’s directive can be described as a strong suggestion, Washington state has required all workers — starting June 8 — to wear a cloth facial covering, except when they’re alone in an office, vehicle, at a job site, or when the job has no in-person interaction.
In Whatcom County, public health officials continue to ask people to do their part to limit the spread of COVID-19 by covering their faces. It’s one of the few tools that are available to fight the virus, given that there is no vaccine and no treatment yet, Lautenbach said.
In addition to wearing masks, Whatcom County residents are encouraged to:
▪ Stick to small groups by gathering with five or fewer people from outside their household per week.
▪ Maintain physical distance from others by staying at least 6 feet away.
▪ Wash their hands.
▪ Stay home when feeling sick.
▪ Get tested even if COVID-19 symptoms are mild.
“We know it’s been a long haul and this is not how we imagined we’d be spending our spring and summer, but if we can keep up all the good work we’ve been doing, we’ll get to Phase 3 sooner, and be able to safely enjoy more activities with our families and friends,” the health department said in a news release on Friday.
