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\"This couldn't happen at a worse time,\" Lindquist said during a press briefing Wednesday, noting that people are becoming more relaxed toward mask-wearing and social distancing as the weather improves. \"It's time for us to reemphasize, you really ought to wear your mask every single time you're outdoors.\"

Dr. Umair Shah, the state's secretary of health, stressed the need for people to get vaccinated against the virus if they haven't yet.

The number of new COVID-19 cases is where they were in early November, though the slope is not as steep as it was then due to vaccinations, health officials said.

\"Until we have more people vaccinated, we are still vulnerable,\" Shah said during Wednesday's briefing.

Washington was one of the last states to fully open up COVID-19 vaccine eligibility, expanding it to residents ages 16 and up on April 15. So far, 36.2% of residents ages 18 and older are fully vaccinated, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

\"PHOTO:
Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images
PHOTO: Staff and volunteers work vaccination stations during opening day of the Community Vaccination Site at the Lumen Field Event Center in Seattle, March 13, 2021.
>

To help slow the spread, the state is setting a new goal of administering 90,000 shots per day statewide, Shah said, up from nearly 60,000 doses per day currently.

Until more people are vaccinated, health officials stressed the need to continue to wear masks, physically distance, keep social circles small and take gatherings outside.

\"The challenge we're having right now is we cannot vaccinate our way out of increasing disease levels,\" Lacy Fehrenbach, deputy secretary for the state’s COVID-19 response, said during Wednesday's briefing. \"We are going to have to use the tools that are available to all of us to slow the spread.\"

Washington has \"been able to knock down those waves when they have hit us because we've been smart, we made decisions based on science, we've worn masks, businesses have been responsible,\" Inslee said Thursday.

With the state \"on the cusp of a fourth wave,\" the governor warned during a town hall with AARP Washington on Wednesday that counties could regress to a more-restrictive reopening phase if metrics, including hospitalizations, continue to increase. The state will next assess its reopening plan on May 3.

\"PHOTO:
Ted S. Warren/AP
PHOTO: An usher holds up a sign reminding fans to wear face masks during a baseball game between the Seattle Mariners and the Los Angeles Dodgers, April 20, 2021, in Seattle.
>

Last week, three counties in the state moved back to phase 2 of the state's reopening plan, which reduces occupancy in restaurants, stores and other venues.

\"If that trend continued, more counties would find themselves in that situation,\" Inslee said. \"We obviously won't want to see that happen, and we don't think it has to happen.\"

\"This is something that really calls for all of our continued dedication,\" he said.

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