The top fed at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state has reversed course and will keep the mask mandate in place for now regardless of whether workers are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
After initially saying last week fully-inoculated employees could stop wearing face coverings as soon as Tuesday, Hanford’s site manager Brian Vance announced in a Monday memo that he would postpone implementation of the revised guidance from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm.
“I have made the decision to postpone implementation of the CDC guidance for our Hanford teammates who are fully vaccinated,” Vance announced. “Please continue to follow the site protocols that have proven very effective in protecting the health and safety of our entire Hanford team over the last year.”
“The additional time is intended to allow federal, state, and local policies and guidelines relative to the revised CDC guidance to stabilize, affording the Hanford leadership team the time to develop a comprehensive and methodical implementation plan,” Vance said. The Hanford boss did not specify how much time this might take.
“Thank you for your patience and continued dedication to our important mission during these challenging and fluid times,” Vance added.
While both the federal and state governments have loosened mask restrictions for vaccinated individuals in the past week, a source near Hanford speculated a Friday policy statement from the Washington state Department of Labor and Industries might have given Vance reason for pause.
Like the CDC, the Washington agency said employers can now drop the mask mandate for fully-vaccinated workers — if those workers can prove they are vaccinated. Before ditching masking and social distance requirements, employers require verification “by having the worker either sign a document attesting to their status or provide proof of vaccination,” according to the state agency.
