CHEHALIS – Lewis County Health Officers, Drs. Alan Melnick and Steve Krager are supporting the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention recommendation for everyone to wear a mask when indoors to prevent the spread of a new coronavirus variant. An estimated 80% of new infections are from the Delta variant of the virus. There has been a rise in coronavirus infections in Lewis County over the past few weeks  with 66 new reports of positive coronavirus tests in the week ending Saturday. Lewis County Health and Social services Director J. P. Anderson says 36% of county residents have now received both vaccine shots. On Wednesday, Gov. Jay Inslee called out citizens in lower vaccinated counties, blaming misinformation for many people deciding not to be vaccinated. The Governor said mask-wearing will be required in K-12 schools this fall and urged fully vaccinated people to wear a mask in indoor public spaces. In response, State Representative Peter Abbarno (R-Centralia) said, “Our families, schools, and businesses need a plan and consistent leadership.”  He said that the Governor is providing conflicting and confusing messages, that vaccines are very effective and then telling people to wear a mask if they are fully vaccinated. Abbarno added, “The Governor issues plenty of blame against citizens, without any recognition of his own mismanagement or the harms caused by his mandates over the past 17 months.”