coronavirus Archives - Page 9 of 14 - Northwest Public Broadcasting

New Guidelines For In-Person Religious Services As Washington Continues Phased Reopening

By NWPB News May 27, 2020

Father Jose Alvarez, right, during walk and drive through confessions on Friday, April 24, 2020, in the parking lot at Holy Roman Catholic Church in White Center. CREDIT: Megan Farmer/KUOW

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is allowing religious services to resume – but with restrictions. In Phase 1 counties, outdoor services with up to 100 people are now allowed. In counties approved for Phase 2, indoor services are allowed at 25-percent capacity or with fewer than 50 people, whichever is less.Read More

9 Songs That Show How People Of The Past Coped With Pandemics

By PBS Newshour May 27, 2020

A work of art by Pierart dou Tielt illustrates the people of Tournai burying victims of the Black Death circa 1353.

Throughout history, people have turned to music during disease outbreaks as a way to seek spiritual guidance, express pain or even educate others about hygiene. The current moment is no exception.Read More

Some Countries Have Brought New Cases Down To Nearly Zero. How’d They Do It?

By NPR News May 27, 2020

It's a diverse mix of places — New Zealand, Vietnam, Germany, Costa Rica. A look at the keys to their success in controlling the coronavirus.Read More

Tourism-Dependent Methow Valley Wishes Tourists Would Stay Closer To Home For Now

By Courtney Flatt May 26, 2020

Old Schoolhouse Brewery owner Jacob Young serves food to his customers. He says when there's little smoke and fires are far away, he sees more patrons.CREDIT: COURTNEY FLATT

Photos circulating on social media showed cars lining streets of downtown Winthrop and along roads on the Interstate 90 corridor. The concern is that people can bring the coronavirus into these small towns that have fewer medical resources already available.Read More

National Parks Hope Visitors Comply With Virus Measures

By NWPB News May 26, 2020

Visitors watch as Old Faithful erupts on the day the park partially reopened after a two-month shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, at Yellowstone National Park, Wyo. Officials at Yellowstone and other national parks plan to let tourists mostly police themselves and not intervene much to enforce social distancing.

Now, as Yellowstone and other national parks end a two-month shutdown due to the coronavirus, park officials ask visitors to take simple precautions: wash hands, keep a safe distance apart, wear protective face coverings in public.Read More

Trump Team Killed Obama Rule Designed To Protect Health Workers From Pandemic Like COVID-19

By NPR News May 26, 2020

Health care workers hold a placard that says From Heroes to Zeroes during a protest against hospital under-staffing and insufficient personal protective equipment for doctors and nurses treating COVID-19 patients amid the coronavirus pandemic. The protest took place outside Saint Joseph Medical Center hospital in Burbank, Calif. on May 19.

"If that rule had gone into effect, then every hospital, every nursing home would essentially have to have a plan," said David Michaels, former Occupational Safety and Health Administration chief.Read More

A Novel Virus Exposes An Old Rift Within Idaho’s GOP

By NWPB News May 26, 2020

Gov. Brad Little delivers his State of the State address on Jan. 6, with Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin seated behind him. McGeachin has been among the state’s most vocal critics of Little’s coronavirus response. CREDIT: Sami Edge/Idaho EdNews

In Idaho, the divide between Gov. Brad Little and Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin is something we all could see coming — grounded, in part, by the fact that Idaho elects its governors and lieutenant governors independently. Little has no more say in this matter than any individual Idaho voter. Read More

WHO Halts Hydroxychloroquine Trial Over Safety Concerns

By NPR News May 25, 2020

A pharmacy tech pours out pills of hydroxychloroquine May 20 at Rock Canyon Pharmacy in Provo, Utah, on May 20, 2020. After a study found COVID-19 patients using the drug were dying at higher rates, the World Health Organization announced it would suspend its clinical trial. CREDIT: George Frey/AFP via Getty Images

The WHO cited a scientific study published last week suggesting that proposed COVID-19 drug hydroxychloroqine may do more harm than good in halting its study to review data.Read More

From Camping To Dining Out To Weddings: How Experts Rate The Risks Of 14 Summer Activities

By NPR News May 24, 2020

Graphic - going to the beach CREDIT: Meredith Miotke for NPR

The weather's warming up and public spaces are starting to reopen. How do you decide what's safe to do? We have guidance to help you compare and evaluate the risks.Read More

More Washington Counties Get Early Reopening Green Light, Including Spokane, Largest So Far

By NWPB News May 22, 2020

“I couldn’t be happier with the timing of all of this," Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward said Friday morning during a news conference. "Spokane County is the biggest community in the state to now move forward. So thank you for being Inland Strong."Read More

University Of Idaho Plans For In-Person Classes This Fall. WSU May, But Still Not Finalized

By Scott Leadingham May 22, 2020

In a school-wide announcement Friday, Green said UI, with its main campus in Moscow, will have in-person instruction beginning August 24. But, he said to prepare for big changes to how things have looked on campus before the pandemic. Read More

Criminal Defendants In Limbo As Trials Put On Hold During Pandemic

By PBS Newshour May 22, 2020

Interior of an empty courtroom with gavel and sounding block on the desk.

When the coronavirus pandemic shut down courtrooms around the country, criminal defense attorneys had to quickly figure out how to continue to serve their clients. Over the last two months, a combination of factors have delayed court proceedings, leaving criminal defendants in limbo as they wait for their stalled cases to move forward.Read More

Washington State Paid Out ‘Hundreds Of Millions’ In Bogus Jobless Benefits

By NWPB News May 22, 2020

A sign explains the closure of a shop in the Pike Place Market in Seattle. As the coronavirus outbreak has caused record number of people to seek unemployment benefits Washington state officials said Thursday that impostors have used the stolen information of tens of thousands of people to receive hundreds of millions of dollars in unemployment benefits.

Impostors have used the stolen information of tens of thousands of people in Washington to fraudulently receive hundreds of millions of dollars in unemployment benefits, the head of the state’s Employment Security Department said Thursday.Read More

‘Are Their Apples Worth More Than Our Lives?’ Yakima Valley Fruit Workers Strike For Protections, Pay

By Enrique Pérez de la Rosa May 21, 2020

Perla Torres, a fruit packer at Jack Frost Fruit, poses for a photograph wearing a mask she says she bought from a supervisor. CREDIT: Enrique Pérez de la Rosa/NWPB

So far this month, more than 400 Yakima Valley fruit packing workers have gone on strike, according to Familias Unidas Por La Justicia. The farmworker advocacy group, based in Skagit County, is helping these workers organize committees, negotiate with employers and seek legal advice. Read More

Summer Camp Cancellations Multiply, But Some Hold Out Hope For Late Start

By Tom Banse May 21, 2020

The director of YMCA Camp Reed north of Spokane holds out hope to open classic summer camp in July.

The coronavirus is spreading a pandemic of disappointment among Pacific Northwest families and camp counselors via the widespread cancellation of traditional sleepaway summer camps. But some camp operators in Washington state and north Idaho are waiting to make the final call for this summer in hopes that overnight camps can still take place -- albeit with a late start Read More

Eastern Washington Small Businesses Get Coronavirus Relief Through State Grants

By Doug Nadvornick May 21, 2020

Owen's Grocery and Deli in Newport is one of nearly 200 eastern Washington small businesses to receive state coronavirus relief grants from the state. Courtesy of Owen's Grocery and Deli

Washington’s Commerce Department has announced about $10 million in coronavirus relief grants for some of the state’s smallest businesses. Nearly 200 businesses in rural eastern Washington towns are among the recipients.Read More

Might There Be A Special Session Of The Washington Legislature? Don’t Bet On It, Or Against It

By Austin Jenkins May 20, 2020

The Washington Capitol building in Olympia with flowers in front

As Washington Gov. Jay Inslee exerts his emergency powers to battle COVID-19, behind the scenes legislative leaders are exploring the idea of a special session of the Legislature, perhaps as early as next month. Read More

California Gov. Gavin Newsom: Federal Government Has Responsibility To Help States Recover

By NPR News May 20, 2020

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced new criteria related to coronavirus hospitalizations and testing that could allow counties to open faster than the state during a news conference in Napa, Calif., on Monday.

California led the nation in issuing a statewide stay-at-home order. And it's paying an economic price: a $54 billion deficit. As the state reopens, it seeks to balance the economy and public health.Read More

Target’s Average Day In April Was Bigger Than Cyber Monday

By NPR News May 20, 2020

Target said it relied on its physical stores to fill 80% of online sales in the past three months.

Though its stores remained open, Target saw its online sales jump 141% in the past three months, with 5 million shopping on the retailer chain's website for the first time. Read More

Most Americans Think It Will Be At Least 6 Months Before A Return To Normal From COVID-19

By PBS Newshour May 20, 2020

Signage reminds people to social distance on Lincoln Mall, May 20, 2020 in Miami Beach, Florida. The city of Miami Beach is allowing non-essential "retail stores, personal grooming establishments, offices and museums" to reopen staring today.

Most Americans think it will take six months or longer for daily life to return to a relative sense of normal, according to a new PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist poll. And as states begin the process of reopening, a majority of Americans are worried about a second wave of COVID-19 infections, too.Read More

What’s Driving The High Rate Of COVID-19 In Yakima County

By NWPB News May 20, 2020

In this photo taken Oct. 15, 2019, workers sort Granny Smith apples to ready them for shipping in a packing plant in Yakima, Wash. CREDIT: Elaine Thompson/AP

Yakima County has the highest rate of COVID-19 infections among counties on the West Coast. That means a larger portion of the county's population has tested positive for the coronavirus compared to other counties.Read More

U.S. And Canada Agree To Keep Border Partly Closed For Another 30 Days

By NPR News May 19, 2020

U.S. and Canada border - Washington and British Columbia

The U.S. and Canada have extended an order closing their shared border to nonessential traffic. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the decision Tuesday, prolonging for a second time an agreement was initially reached in March.Read More

10 More Washington Counties, Including Larger Ones Like Spokane, Eligible For Earlier Reopening

By NWPB News May 19, 2020

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said May 19 that his office is finishing guidelines for more populous counties to allow more businesses to open. CREDIT: TVW

Gov. Jay Inslee on Tuesday said that 10 additional counties are eligible to apply to loosen some social distancing restrictions in place to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.Read More

Oregon Emergency Measures Back On As State Supreme Court Holds Judge’s Ruling To Overturn

By Dirk VanderHart May 18, 2020

A protestor holds signs on the steps of the Oregon state capitol during a rally to reopen Oregon while health care workers counter demonstrate in the background CREDIT: Jonathan Levinson/OPB

A Baker County judge has invalidated Brown’s restrictions on businesses and social gatherings, along with every other executive order Brown has issued under a state of emergency she ordered due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Read More

Businesses Are Reopening, But Many Customers May Not Be Ready To Go Back

By NPR News May 18, 2020

Shoppers began showing up earlier this month at the International Plaza mall in Tampa, Fla. Mall business has been slow to pick up because a lot of people remain reluctant to venture out.

Governors around the country have begun slowly allowing stores, restaurants and malls to serve customers again. But it won't count for much if people are afraid to venture out again.Read More

Changes In Opioid Supply Create New Risks As Stay-At-Home Rules Ease

By NPR News May 18, 2020

A patient arrives to pick up medication for opioid addiction and is given hand sanitizer at a clinic in Olympia, Wash. The pandemic is changing the distribution networks and supplies of street drugs across the United States, authorities say.

The disruption in the illegal opioid trade had varying impacts around the country. As stay-at-home orders lift, that creates different risks of overdose that public health is trying to manage.Read More

40 Years After Mount St. Helens, Sounds Of Past Government Response Echo Today

By Nicholas Deshais May 18, 2020

Mount St. Helens left an indellible mark on the Northwest landscape -- not just in the ecology and geology, but in how government officials respond and think about disaster preparedness.

In the days leading up to the May 18, 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption 40 years ago, Cowlitz County sheriff’s deputies tried to prevent people from getting too close to the growling, shaking mountain.Read More

Yellowstone National Park Set To Reopen — With Caveats

By NPR News May 17, 2020

Yellowstone National Park entrance sign. CREDIT: Kirk Siegler/NPR

There is growing economic pressure to reopen national parks and ease travel restrictions even as many states are still seeing a rise in coronavirus cases. Read More

San Juan Becomes First County In Pacific Northwest To Require Masks In Public

By Tom Banse May 16, 2020

Friday Harbor in Washington's San Juan Islands is the seat of San Juan County. CREDIT: Tom Banse/N3

San Juan County in the northwest corner of Washington state is about to become the first county in the Pacific Northwest to require residents and visitors to wear a face covering in public places. Elsewhere in the region, governments have highly recommended wearing masks, but it's not the law.Read More

CDC Issues Tools To Guide Reopening Of Schools, Businesses, Transit

By NPR News May 15, 2020

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released flowchart-like tools on Thursday designed to guide businesses, schools, mass transit and other organizations through reopening.

The flowchart-like documents released by the CDC ask businesses, schools and workplaces to first and foremost consider whether reopening is consistent with state and local stay-at-home orders.Read More

Pandemic Hits Spending Hard; 79% Dive In Clothing Sales Leads A Record Plunge

By NPR News May 15, 2020

Month-by-month change in U.S. retail spending since January 2007.

Retail sales saw record drops for the second month in a row. Other categories with huge declines included a 59% dive in furniture sales and 29% decreases in department stores and gas stations.Read More

Embattled Eastern Washington Legislator Matt Shea Won’t Be On The Ballot This Year

By Nicholas Deshais May 15, 2020

Washington state GOP Rep. Matt Shea records a video on the first day of the legislative session while a small group of supporters gather around him. CREDIT: Austin Jenkins/N3

It’s long been known in eastern Washington that Matt Shea is not your typical politician. Now, he won’t be on the ballot for the upcoming August primary. The 4 p.m. candidate filing deadline on Friday came and went with no sign of Shea. Read More

Whitman County Approved For Phase 2 Reopening As More COVID-19 Cases Identified

By Courtney Flatt May 15, 2020

File photo. Pullman is trying to create easier ways to incubate new small businesses in downtown and better transparency inside city limits for future businesses. CREDIT: Murrow News 8

Whitman County will now enter Phase 2 of Gov. Jay Inslee’s Safe Start reopening plan. The application was approved Friday, just a day after Whitman County announced its first positive COVID-19 test since April 22. Read More

Idaho Soon Moves To Next Reopening Phase; Washington Denies Spokane County’s Phase 2 Request

By NWPB News May 14, 2020

Idaho Governor Brad Little at state medical supplies stockpile in Boise - April 14 2020

Idaho Gov. Brad Little says the Gem State will move to the second phase of state’s four-part coronavirus recovery plan on Saturday. That means businesses such as gyms and hair salons will be able to reopen with the appropriate precautions. Little made his announcement Thursday and threw in a surprise as well.Read More

Millions Of Pigs Will Be Euthanized As Pandemic Cripples Meatpacking Plants

By NPR News May 14, 2020

With meatpacking plants reducing processing capacity nationwide, U.S. hog farmers are bracing or an unprecedented crisis: the need to euthanize millions of pigs.

As the pandemic wreaks havoc on the meat industry, hog farmers anticipate they'll soon be forced to euthanize millions of pigs unable to be sent for processing.Read More

Washington Plans To Test All Nursing Home Residents And Staff, Says State Doctor

By Austin Jenkins May 12, 2020

Tim Killian, a spokesman for Life Care Center in Kirkland, Wash., prepares to give a daily briefing to reporters on Wednesday. CREDIT: Ted S. Warren/AP

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has instructed the state Department of Health (DOH) to prepare to test all nursing home residents and staff for COVID-19 in the coming weeks, according to the physician leading the state’s testing strategy.Read More

Wuhan To Test All 11 Million Residents After New Coronavirus Cases Emerge

By NPR News May 12, 2020

A worker checks a passenger's body temperature on Tuesday after arriving in Wuhan, China.

Wuhan, where the world's first coronavirus cases were reported in late December, eased many restrictions in early April. But earlier this week, authorities found at least six new cases.Read More

When Can We Expect A Coronavirus Vaccine (And Other Important Vaccine Questions)?

By NPR News May 12, 2020

Engineers work on a potential vaccine for the coronavirus

The race is on. What will it take to develop, test and distribute a safe and effective vaccine?Read More

Facing Coronavirus Budget Crunch, University Of Idaho Seeks Mandatory Employee Furloughs

By NWPB News May 11, 2020

University of Idaho President C. Scott Green presents budgetary outlook before the Idaho Legislature on Monday, Jan. 20, 2020. Courtesy of Idaho Education News

Facing the threat of coronavirus-driven state budget cuts, the University of Idaho is considering mandatory employee furloughs. The proposed furlough plan would cut about $3.3 million in spending, U of I President C. Scott Green said in a memo to staff and faculty Monday.Read More

UPDATE: At Least 34 COVID-19 Cases At Ellensburg Food Plant Pauses Kittitas County’s Reopening Plan

By NWPB News May 11, 2020

Kittitas County paused its application to reopen some businesses early after positive COVID-19 case at food processer Twin City Foods in Ellensburg. CREDIT: Google Maps - July 2012

Health officials in Kittitas County have found at least one new positive case of COVID-19: a worker at a Twin City Foods processing plant in Ellensburg. The news came Friday after more than three weeks of no new confirmed cases. That plus the county’s low population made Kittitas County eligible to lift social distancing measures earlier than other parts of the state.Read More

Here’s Who’s Being Hit Hardest By The Economic Downturn

By PBS Newshour May 11, 2020

A pedestrian walks past a sign in a shop window reading "We Will Return Boston Strong" after Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker extended his stay-at-home advisory and his order closing non-essential businesses

The current estimated unemployment rate far exceeds the 10 percent peak reached in the Great Recession in 2009. It is the most devastating loss of jobs since the Great Depression, when economists estimate the unemployment rate reached 25 percent in 1933. Read More

Market For Blood Plasma From COVID-19 Survivors Heats Up

By NPR News May 11, 2020

Diana Berrent established Survivor Corps, a grassroots clearinghouse for COVID-19 survivors interested in donating blood plasma to organizations developing therapies that might combat the disease.

As many firms and academic researchers vie for blood donations from survivors in hopes of isolating components for new treatments, one project is turning for help from 10,000 Orthodox Jewish women.Read More

WSU Researchers Explore Questions Of Coronavirus Spread Between Humans And Their Pets

By Natalie Newcomb May 11, 2020

Researchers at WSU's Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory have been looking into any connection between COVID-19 in humans and pets. CREDIT: Henry Moore Jr/WSU

Are your pets at risk from COVID-19? According to animal scientists, no. The risk is low as there has not been an increase in the number of pets with respiratory issues. Read More

For Most States, At Least A Third Of COVID-19 Deaths Are In Long-Term Care Facilities

By NPR News May 10, 2020

"It was certainly expected that nursing homes would be hit but it was not inevitable that they'd be hit this hard," Richard Mollot, executive director of New York-based Long Term Care Community Coalition, told NPR. CREDIT: John Minchillo/AP

The report comes as the government announced all states must now meet federal reporting guidelines. The type of information gathered by states up to now has been inconsistent.Read More

Federal Environmental Policies During Pandemic Raise Concerns Across Northwest

By NWPB News May 10, 2020

An elevated fish ladder designed to help migrating fish swim through the Lower Granite Dam on the Snake River near Almota, Wash.

State agencies and advocates have been alarmed by federal environmental policy rollbacks that continue unabated by the global coronavirus pandemic.Read More

‘Let My People Go’: Opponents Of Coronavirus Measures Again Freely Gather To Protest In Olympia

By Austin Jenkins May 9, 2020

Participants at the Saturday rally prayed as the event got underway. Government overreach and tyranny were common themes. CREDIT: Austin Jenkins/N3

For the second time in a month, opponents of Washington Gov. Jay Inslee’s extended “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order – many of them openly carrying firearms – rallied at the state Capitol Saturday in an event that brought together sign-waving citizens, conservative state legislators, Republican and Libertarian candidates for public office and members of far-right groups.Read More

Tyson’s Largest Pork Plant Reopens As Tests Show Surge In Coronavirus Cases

By NPR News May 8, 2020

Vehicles sit in a near empty parking lot outside the Tyson Foods plant in Waterloo, Iowa, on May 1. CREDIT: Charlie Neibergall/AP

The Tyson Foods plant in Waterloo, Iowa, reopened Thursday after a coronavirus outbreak there. Black Hawk County Sheriff Tony Thompson says he'd support a second shutdown if the changes aren't enough.Read More

Seen ‘Plandemic’? A Close Look At The Viral Conspiracy Video’s Claims From A Discredited Scientist

By NPR News May 8, 2020

In 2011, Judy Mikovits was fired from the Whittemore Peterson Institute for Neuro-Immune Disease, in Reno, Nev. She was then accused of stealing notebooks and a computer. David Calvert/AP

The video has been viewed millions of times on YouTube via links that are replaced as quickly as the video-sharing service can remove them for violating its policy against "COVID-19 misinformation."Read More

For The History Books: 14.7% Unemployment, 20.5 Million Jobs Wiped Away, At Least Temporarily

By NPR News May 8, 2020

Notes: All values are seasonally adjusted. In the bar chart, figures for the two most recent months are preliminary and may be revised later. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (unemployment rate, payrolls, wages)

U.S. employers shed a record number of jobs in April, as the unemployment rate climbed to the highest since the Great Depression. The coronavirus crisis has locked down much of the economy.Read More

Can George Washington Buy Wooden Teeth With This Washington Town’s New Wooden Money?

By NWPB News May 8, 2020

The design for wooden money Tenino, Washington, plans to print in response to the COVID-19 crisis, modeled after a Depression-era effort.

Tenino, a small town in Thurston County, Washington, has approved a plan to print its own money on strips of wood. Again. It’s a response to the COVID-19 crisis that’s modeled after how the town responded to a prior crisis — the Great Depression.Read More