In the Columbia Basin, the Democratic challenger for Washington state’s 13th Legislative District house seat has focused his message on farmworker safety and called for the boycott of fruit. It’s quite a move for a candidate in a district where the economy is dominated by agriculture.Read More
Idaho Gov. Brad Little says individual school districts will decide whether to bring students back to the classroom this fall. But he says the expectation is that schools will not be closed for an extended period.Read More
Gov. Jay Inslee said Wednesday that schools in the majority of Washington’s counties should strongly consider online-only learning for students this fall due to COVID-19 and canceling or postponing sports and all other in-person extracurricular activities. In Idaho, Gov. Brad Little is urging schools to reopen where it's deemed safe.Read More
Eight people, at least two of them foreign H-2A farmworkers, have died in the county. Health officials say cases are climbing quickly with nearly 300 confirmed over the last two weeks alone. The county has seen about 800 total cases during the pandemic. Many of the recent cases are in the small town of Brewster, home to a large tree-fruit growing, packing and shipping industry.Read More
Two-thirds of Americans believe the U.S. is handling the pandemic worse than other nations, an NPR/Ipsos poll finds. Majorities support more aggressive measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Read More
U.S. pleasure boats have been sneaking into Canada despite a border shutdown. A group of Canadian retirees is on the lookout for violators from the "petri dish" that is America.Read More
Public health officials say a promising coronavirus vaccine is on its way in 2021. But does that matter if only half of Americans say they're willing to get such a vaccination?Read More
The coronavirus pandemic has served to remind many of us how much we count on strangers staying healthy so we can restock our cupboards and go about daily life. That's especially true for Alaskans who depend on a marine cargo lifeline from the Pacific Northwest for the majority of their goods.Read More
After the Trump administration moved hospital COVID-19 data reporting to HHS, bypassing the CDC, the new data system has been rife with erratic updates and anomalies.Read More
Herman Cain had been hospitalized for nearly a month after testing positive for the coronavirus. Cain attended a Trump campaign rally in Tulsa, Okla., in late June.Read More
In recent days, health officers in Snohomish and Thurston counties have recommended against reopening school buildings this fall. And some districts, including the Olympia district, have already announced they will stick with remote learning for now. Read More
Benton, Franklin and Yakima counties have been approved for more business and recreational activities beginning this Saturday. The approval means additional operations within the counties’ current modified Phase 1 – not moving to a full Phase 2. Read More
With the coronavirus spreading out of control in many parts of the U.S., some experts say the strategy of testing and tracing can't contain the pandemic until lockdowns bring case numbers down.Read More
Correspondent Anna King is usually out and about in the region covering agriculture, Hanford, fires and more. But you haven’t heard from her since early June. Why? COVID-19. Here she shares her personal struggle and diary recording her ordeal. Read More
After days of delays, congressional Republicans unveiled their $1 trillion proposal for a fifth wave of pandemic relief. Democrats are not on board — signaling tough negotiations ahead.Read More
A COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed by the U.S. company Moderna and the National Institutes of Health starts its final phase of testing. It's one of a handful of candidates to reach this stage.Read More
COVID-19 is changing how the U.S. disposes of waste. It is also threatening hard-fought victories that restricted or eliminated single-use disposable items, especially plastic, in cities and towns across the nation.Read More
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee says the coronavirus pandemic continues to greatly affect the state in serious and dangerous ways. In a news conference Thursday, Inslee announced updates to the state’s ongoing response and four-phase reopening plan.Read More
How can communities stop coronavirus case surges without crushing the economy? Some scientists say widespread mask wearing may be more than a helpful precaution — it may be the solution.Read More
Idaho's case count has quadrupled since mid-June, and about half of the more than 15,000 confirmed cases in the state have come in the past two weeks. Read More
Two faculty members in the WSU College of Medicine have earned new grants for projects related to COVID-19 and cancer. Professors Ofer Amram and Patrik Johansson have each been awarded $100,000 from the Andy Hill CARE Fund for cancer research in western Washington.Read More
The solo briefing came as cases of COVID-19 continue to surge in hot spots across the country. Read More
Testing in more than 1,000 people found the vaccine spurred an immune response and had no severe side effects. Larger trials are underway.Read More
In a lawsuit against fruit-growing giant Stemilt, workers say allegations stemmed from a change in production standards set forth in the company's guest worker contract. A separate case involved a challenge to Washington's rules on farmworker housing and sleeping quarters during the pandemic.Read More
A document prepared for the White House Coronavirus Task Force but not publicized suggests more than a dozen states, including Idaho and Washington, should revert to more stringent protective measures, limiting social gatherings to 10 people or fewer, closing bars and gyms and asking residents to wear masks at all times.Read More
Among the people gathered were Tim Eyman, Anton Sakharov, Loren Culp and Phil Fortunato, all seeking the Republican nomination for governor. Two local candidates for the state Senate, Rey Reynolds and John Ley, also attended. The Clark County Republican Women hosted the two-hour forum. President Liz Pike estimated 150 people attended. Read More
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee says there is a concerning rise in the rate of coronavirus infections in the state. On Thursday he announced one measure to address it as counties wait in limbo for further reopening. Beginning Monday, July 20, social gatherings in current Phase 3 counties will be limited to 10 or fewer people.Read More
Germicidal ultraviolet light technology has a proven track record against indoor transmission of tuberculosis and other airborne viruses. It's now being used in some restaurants and on subways. Read More
The carefully followed death toll from COVID-19 may not fully capture the loss of life during the pandemic. Analysis of state and federal statistics for deaths from all causes shows hundreds of additional deaths above normal levels this spring in the Pacific Northwest. Some or many of those may actually be missed COVID deaths.Read More
This week Oregon and California took steps to slow or rollback their re-openings, and Washington could be next, Gov. Jay Inslee said. Dramatic growth in COVID cases over the past month has pushed the state over its previous peak in April.Read More
Adm. Brett Giroir, who leads the federal testing response, tells NPR that the U.S. is on track to test enough to contain the pandemic, saying newer, point-of-care tests are part of the solution.Read More
The first person in the Yakima County jail tested positive for coronavirus in May — an inmate who transferred to the Yakima County jail from the city jail in Sunnyside, 35 miles southeast of Yakima. On July 6, the jail reported that 83 inmates had caught the virus, and this number continues to grow.Read More
Misinformation and conspiracy theories abound, from tales that people who talk to contact tracers will be sent to nonexistent "FEMA camps" — a rumor so prevalent that health officials in Washington state had to put out a statement in May debunking it — to elaborate theories that the efforts are somehow part of a plot by global elites.Read More
Seven months since cases of the coronavirus were first reported, some countries have effectively combatted the virus and brought the spread under control. The United States is not one of them. But experts say it’s not too late.Read More
For background, aerosols are tiny microdroplets containing the virus that can be expelled when we talk or breathe and can stay aloft and travel on air currents. It's still unclear how much of a role they play in spreading the virus, but recently more than 200 scientists wrote an open letter asking the World Health Organization to pay more attention to them.Read More
In a new statement made jointly with teachers unions, the American Academy of Pediatrics now says "science and community circumstances must guide decision-making." Read More
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is responding to President Donald Trump’s threat to penalize states that don’t reopen schools this fall. At a news conference Thursday, Inslee pushed back hard on the president and said the state won’t be bullied.Read More
With the first day of school less than six weeks away, the Idaho State Board of Education on Thursday unanimously adopted school reopening guidelines that set expectations for students to return to school in the fall.Read More
There are lots of different ways to formulate a vaccine, and all of them are now being considered for coronavirus. Some vaccines use common methods to confer immunity, while others are entirely experimental — they’ve never before been approved for use.Read More
The county’s emergency management office has handed out more than 3 million pieces of protective equipment since March. That includes 770,000 masks to businesses, municipalities, and food banks and an additional 220,000 masks distributed to low-income residents. Read More
An open letter signed by 239 researchers addressed to the World Health Organization, published Monday in Clinical Infectious Diseases, calls for attention and guidance around a third route of transmission: tiny respiratory particles that float in the air and are called aerosols. They could be responsible for infecting someone who comes along and breathes them in.Read More
Rural "critical access" hospitals, often some of the largest employers in small towns, have been operating on razor-thin margins throughout the coronavirus pandemic.Read More
Effective July 10, travelers from "reduced risk" countries, including Spain, France, Germany and Italy, won't have to self-Isolate for 14 days. The U.S. is not among the exempt countries.Read More
Alcohol makes people lose inhibitions. And maybe take off their masks, and get up close and personal. Here's why you may want to reconsider going out this weekend. Or how to stay safe if you do. Read More
Washington Governor Jay Inslee and the state Health Secretary are hitting the pause button on the county-by-county reopening process in response to the worsening coronavirus pandemic. Inslee announced that for at least the next two weeks all counties in Washington state will stay in whatever reopening phase they are currently in -- with a couple of exceptions.Read More
“Well, none of us like to wear masks. I don’t particularly like to wear a mask,” Moscow Mayor Bill Lambert says. “But I have for the past two months, and I will in the future because I think it’s an easy thing for us to do.” Read More
They're made of cotton. Or polyester. Or paper. Or polypropylene. Here's what researchers say about the effectiveness of the different types of face masks during this pandemic.Read More
Over the past two weeks, Inslee said infection rates have increased six-fold in Franklin County and nearly five-fold in Benton County. The main thing that could help, he said: masks. “Yes, there’s controversy, as there is in any great, noble endeavor, but the vast majority of people in (the Tri-Cities region) want to beat this pandemic,” Inslee said.Read More
The Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions convened Tuesday to address plans to reopen schools and workplaces amid the coronavirus pandemic.Read More
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases worldwide surpassed 10 million on Sunday while deaths topped half a million. Health officials estimate the actual case count could be much higher.Read More