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Greetings, Washington State Deaf, DeafBlind, DeafPlus, Hard of Hearing and Late Deafened Community,
As you may be aware, yesterday Washington State Governor Jay Inslee and Secretary of Health John Wiesman mandated a public health order requiring the use of face masks in public, both indoors and outdoors, that will take effect Friday, June 26 and it is STATEWIDE.
The governor states on his Medium page, “As with previous orders, there will be specific exemptions for those who may be adversely impacted by wearing a facial covering. These exemptions include those with certain medical conditions and children under the age of two, who should not wear a face covering. Children aged two, three and four are encouraged, but not required, to wear a face covering in public with the assistance and supervision of an adult. In addition, individuals may remove face coverings under certain circumstances, including while eating or drinking at a restaurant; while communicating with a person who is Deaf or hard of hearing; and while outdoors in public areas, provided that a distance of six feet is maintained from people who are not members of their household.”
What this means for Deaf, DeafBlind, DeafPlus, Hard of Hearing and Late Deafened people is that we need to wear a mask at all times in public. You may choose, but are not required, to remove your mask as needed for a short time when you need to use lipreading to communicate. Once you are done communicating, you must put your mask back on immediately. Wearing a mask in public is no longer optional, it is mandatory due to the number of COVID-19 cases rising everyday in Washington State. We all need to do our part to stop the spread of COVID-19. The easiest way to do this is to wear a mask and practice social distancing.
To read more about Governor Inslee’s latest order, please visit this link:
https://medium.com/@WAStateGov/inslee-announces-statewide-mask-mandate-812c9ba7a92
Please note that our physical offices remain closed, and we are furloughed (closed) every week on Monday until July 25. However, our staff are still teleworking Tuesdays through Fridays, and we are available via phone, videophone, videoconferencing, or email.
Thanks,
Office of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
odhh@dshs.wa.gov
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