COVID updates: Hawaii is only state to not announce plans to lift mask mandates

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper urged local officials and school districts to end their mask mandates next month.

Mask use indoors has not been universally required in North Carolina since last spring, when the Cooper ended statewide requirements. Each school district in the state has made their own masking requirements.

If COVID-19 trends continue to decline, the governor is encouraging all school districts to drop their mandates starting starting March 7. 

"It’s time to focus on getting our children a good education and improving our schools, no matter how you feel about masks," Cooper said at a news conference.

As of Thursday, 62.7% of eligible North Carolina residents are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

-*ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos, Ben Stein and Leonardo Mayorga*

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced that based on the state's COVID-19 case and hospitalization rates, the mandate for masks in indoor settings would end March 21.

"We are approaching a place fairly shortly where we will not have to be wearing masks generally in these in these conditions," he said during a news conference. "And we think this is both good for our health and our education of our children and the total reopening of our economy."

Inslee added that businesses and schools would be allowed to issue their own mask mandate after March 21 if they choose to.

The governor also announced that the requirement for vaccine verification at large events will end on March 1.

-ABC News' Zach Ferber and Matt Fuhrman

Gov. Gavin Newsom and California health officials have released a plan to deal with COVID-19 once it becomes an endemic.

The plan, dubbed "SMARTER," will focus on seven areas: shots, masks, awareness, readiness, testing, education and medicine.

Officials said that clear "on and off ramps” for future restrictions, such as mask mandates, will be created specifically for variants.

California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said case rates could determine future restrictions if the state faces a more deadly variant in the future, while hospital capacity could be the primary indicator if California faces a less virulent variant similar to omicron.

The state will publish a one- to two-page summary of the state’s current recommendations on COVID-19 in the next couple of days, according to Ghaly.

-ABC News' Matt Fuhrman

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday will announce the state's "endemic" COVID-19 plan -- a vague but flexible approach that will change based off the characteristics of new variants.

State officials said clear "on and off ramps” for future restrictions will be created for specific variants.

California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said case rates could be determinative for future restrictions if there's a deadly variant, while hospital capacity could be the primary indicator if California faces a less virulent variant, similar to omicron. 

The SMARTER plan focuses on seven areas: S – Shots; M - Masks “on and off ramps that are tailored for each unique virus strain"; A – Awareness; R – Readiness; T – Testing; E – Education; and R - Rx (Treatment).

State officials are expected to publish a one to two-page SMARTER summary of the state’s current recommendations on COVID-19 in the next few days. The document will be consistently updated so Californians can reference what the state's current recommendations are.

-ABC News' Matthew Fuhrman