Washington State Beat Back Covid-19. Now It’s Rising Again.

Mr. Udell, who was stepping up to the range not far behind Mr. Towell, said that his wife had recovered from the virus and that he did not share Mr. Towell’s theory. Still, when the outbreak moved to eastern Washington and the morgues in Yakima did not overflow, and the hospital did not run out of beds, Mr. Udell did not necessarily see a public health victory — he saw that people had been scared unnecessarily.

“At the beginning when the Covid started, there were these huge estimates of burning piles of bodies and all that kind of stuff,” he said, “and it’s obvious the estimates have been way high.”

With only 60 deputies and one of the highest murder rates in the state, Mr. Udell argues that he has bigger problems to deal with than enforcing the mask mandate. And ultimately, Mr. Udell, an elected official, has no interest in wading into a debate over masks that could alienate voters.

“I get emails, dozens of emails a day, saying ‘I’m never going to do it, you can’t make me,’” he said. “On the other side, we get emails saying, ‘Put those people in jail.’”

For health officials, there is no debate. The government can increase testing only so much, they say. But to reopen businesses, to re-establish a normal way of life, Washington will have to rely on a weary public that may have thought they had the virus beat.

Just a few weeks ago, the state was confident that it could reopen schools in the fall, allowing many parents to go back to work and fuel the state’s economic recovery. But amid mounting opposition from educators and health experts, those plans look increasingly unlikely. And on Tuesday, Mr. Inslee said that no counties would be allowed to loosen lockdown restrictions for at least two weeks.

In Seattle, still the heart of the state’s outbreak, many people are resigned to the precautions they envision for the foreseeable future. On July 4, families wearing masks grilled tortillas, played on swings and enjoyed the parks — many feet away from anyone else. Salons took customers’ temperatures before letting them in. At Target, people lined up six feet apart at the cashier.