COVID-19 NEWS
Keep up with all the fast-moving novel coronavirus news, particularly as it impacts the Columbia Basin.
COVID-19 update
RITZVILLE — Adams County Health Department administrators have reported another death related to COVID-19, raising…
WIAA releases revised calendar for 2020-21 athletics
RENTON — High school sports this fall are going to look different in the Columbia Basin, and statewide.
Use of Grant PUD recreation facilities rises
EPHRATA — At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Grant County PUD officials anticipated a pretty quiet summer at PUD recreation facilities. Now summer is h…
School district finds mixed response for remote learning, but majority are concerned with school safety
MOSES LAKE — While remote learning was largely unpopular for the Moses Lake School District community, many are also concerned about their safety when school resumes, according to a survey published by the school d…
Adjusted Girl Scout Cookie sales period came to a close Monday
MOSES LAKE — Girl Scout Cookies were on sale for the final time in Moses Lake yesterday as the revised sale period came to a close. The annual sale was extende…
Coronavirus: 59 new cases reported over weekend
GRANT COUNTY — Grant County Health District said Monday that 59 new cases of the coronavirus reported had been in Grant County since Friday evening.
COVID-19 drives school budget uncertainty
MOSES LAKE — Uncertainty as to just how many students will be back to school this fall means the Moses Lake School District will likely have to make some very conservative assumptions in its 2020-21 school year bud…
Coronavirus: New cases reported
GRANT COUNTY — Grant County Health District reported 30 new cases of the coronavirus reported in Grant County on Friday. However, the district’s total of new cases in cities totaled 36: 10 new cases in Ephrata, eig…
Adams County to start COVID-19 screenings
RITZVILLE — Beginning Monday, July 20, Adams County will implement COVID-19 screenings in Othello and Ritzville for all members of the public who enter county buildings for court services.
Local hospitals review plans to handle a surge, required in reopening plan
EPHRATA — One of the possibilities of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak is that a sudden increase in patients with the virus could fill a local hospital to capa…
Social gatherings for Phase 3 counties to be limited to 10
Starting Monday, Washington state counties in the third phase of a four-stage coronavirus reopening plan will have to limit indoor and outdoor social gatherings to no more than 10, down from the current 50
Coronavirus: 26 cases reported in Grant County
GRANT COUNTY — Twenty-six new cases of the coronavirus were reported in Grant County on Thursday, including four new cases each in Ephrata, Moses Lake, and the Quincy and Mattawa areas, and three in Warden, accordi…
As next school year looms, MLSD wrangles with reopening safely
MOSES LAKE — Though the Moses Lake School District is still in the process of finalizing a plan to safely start the new school year in late August, one thing i…
Coronavirus: 13 new cases in Grant County
GRANT COUNTY — There were 13 new cases of the coronavirus reported in Grant County on Wednesday, including five in Moses Lake, three in Royal City, three in the Quincy area, and two in Ephrata, according to Grant C…
Judge upholds business closures in water park case
OLYMPIA — Gov. Jay Inslee’s stay-home order and system of reopening businesses in phases is within his authority to protect the public, a federal judge has ruled.
Moses Lake Surf ‘n Slide won’t open this summer
MOSES LAKE - The Surf ‘n Slide Water Park will remain closed this summer, Moses Lake city officials announced at a Tuesday meeting of the city council. “We can…