PORT ANGELES – A lawsuit seeking to overturn the COVID-19 vaccine mandate to enter restaurants and bars in Clallam County will be heard in Kitsap County.

Ahead of a hearing this week scheduled in Clallam County,  the three Clallam County Superior Court judges said they couldn’t impartially hear the case here and it was sent to Kitsap County Superior Court

That’s where a hearing on the matter will happen this Friday.

A half-dozen local eateries have sought the injunction. They say it unconstitutionally targets a single industry and harms their freedom of commerce. It also says the county’s health officer has failed to provide hard data to support the mandate.

Clallam, Jefferson, and King counties are the only ones in the state with such a mandate.