PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is discussing the state’s indoor mask mandate Monday afternoon.

In a joint statement released Monday morning, the governors from Washington, Oregon and California said all three states would be lifting their state’s mask mandates on March 12.

Inslee held a press conference at 1 p.m. to talk about the decision. He was joined by Washington Secretary of Health Dr. Umair Shah.

“We are turning a page in our fight against the COVID virus,” Inslee began. “This page will be based more on empowering individuals and families in protecting themselves rather than based on government restrictions.”

The governor says this is possible because the state is seeing a significant decline in the virus’ activity.

“Obviously, the virus is still active in our state, but we are confident that decline will continue which allows us to make a decision today to accelerate the date when our mask mandate for schools will be accelerated,” Inslee continued.

Inslee said he expects many businesses and families will continue choosing to wear masks due to their effectiveness in keeping one another safe.

“As we transition to this next phase, we will continue to move forward together carefully and cautiously,” he stated.

Dr. Shah said this accelerated timeline is a direct result of following the science and after careful review of the CDC’s new guidelines released on Friday that determine which counties should wear masks indoors. Masking recommendations are based on a county’s risk level, ranging from low to high. High-risk counties are recommended to wear masks indoors in public.

Shah thanked all Washingtonians for the work they’ve done to protect themselves and those around them.

“This has been a tough two years for everyone — we know that — but those who have gotten their vaccines, worn their maks and followed public health guidance during this time I really just want to say thank you to all of you for doing so,” he said.

However, Shah also reminded the public this is not a time to throw caution to the wind.

“We know that things are getting better but we also know the pandemic is not over,” Shah said. “We are, as the governor said, watching for other variants not just in our state, across the county and across the globe. We will do everything we can to protect Washingtonians. We also want to just encourage you to do everything you can to continue to live your lives but also to do so with health and safety in mind and to do so together.”

During his press conference, Inslee said the state will soon be announcing “what we think of as our next chapter in how we deal with this virus.” He reiterated this will focus more on individuals and families rather than mandates.

Earlier this month, Inslee said Washington’s indoor mask mandate would lift on March 21. Health officials predicted this date would allow hospitalizations to reach a low enough point that hospitals would no longer be overwhelmed.