Proof of vaccination or negative COVID test at large indoor and outdoor events starts Monday
OLYMPIA, Wash. - Starting Monday, Nov. 15, large events in Washington state will be required to verify that all attendees 12 years or older are either fully vaccinated or test negative within the last 72 hours.
This applies to indoor events with 1,000 people or more, and will apply to outdoor events with 10,000 people or more.
The vaccine verification requirement applies to ticketed or registered events, which include conventions, concerts, sporting events, fairs and theme parks.
It does not apply to religious services or events on K-12 school grounds.
"We cannot and will not surrender to this disease. We cannot and we will not think the status quo is good enough. We need to get on top of this disease and knock these numbers down," said Governor Jay Inslee. "It can help incentivize people to decide to get vaccinated and avoid the headache of getting a test."
"We have thankfully started to see a flattening and a decrease in cases and hospitalizations, but they’re still at an extremely high number. We’re still at the highest number we’ve had throughout this pandemic, this fifth current delta wave," said Dr. Umair Shah, WA Secretary of Health. "Disease trends are absolutely showing improvement, but because they remain high, it’s important for us to continue to stay vigilant with the work that we are doing."
Community members told FOX 13 News they have family members and friends in their lives who are opposed to additional restrictions and mandates, but they're open to them.
"I'm very fine with that. I’m actually happy about that because we’re not gonna see the end of this until we be done with it, and if we’re not on the same page, I don’t see it coming to an end," said Inga Cole of Lacey.
"To me it makes total sense. I’ve known a lot of people who’ve been affected by Covid, a couple people have passed away from it. A lot of my friends would probably disagree with me on this. It’s affected our community enough to the point where anything that we can do to get ourselves out of the situation, we need to," said Scott Smith of Olympia.
State health officials said people can their vaccination status in a number of ways including the healthcare provider or CDC issued vaccination card or a photo of it.
State officials said it's a crime to falsify medical records, and will leave it up to each venue to ask for matching identification. Vaccine verification requirements are enforced on both venues and individuals.
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