All City employees and visitors will be required to wear masks indoors
City Hall: 311 or 509.755.2486. Media: Brian, (509) 625.6740.
Monday, August 16, 2021 at 1:52 p.m.
All City employees and visitors will be required to wear masks inside City facilities regardless of vaccination status beginning Wednesday, Mayor Nadine Woodward announced today.
Woodward continued to urge people to get vaccinated as just under 51% are fully vaccinated countywide. A recent state Department of Health report shows vaccination is overwhelmingly effective against COVID-19 and avoiding severe illness from variants, including Delta.
“We have work to do as a community to get a greater percentage of individuals vaccinated and we are taking this action in protection of City employees, their families, and visitors to City facilities while that happens,” Woodward said. “This is not a step I take lightly, but one that is necessary after great discussion with members of my Cabinet and close review of the latest community and organizational data.”
Case counts and hospitalizations have been on the rise in the community. City employees experienced a slight uptick in cases the past two weeks.
“This is not where we hoped to be, but taking action now will limit any potential impact to staffing and service delivery,” Woodward said. “We are leading by example in protection of people and businesses in our community that have already sacrificed so much.”
City Hall and other City facilities will remain open to the public with the new masking requirement.
About the City of Spokane
The City of Spokane, home to more than 220,000 people, is located in the heart of the Inland Northwest. Our 2,000 employees strive to deliver efficient and effective services that facilitate economic opportunity and enhance the quality of life for all our citizens. For more information, visit www.spokanecity.org and follow us @spokanecity on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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