Capitol Buzz: COVID-19 lockdown to last through Jan. 4 in Washington state; State Republicans speak out against restriction extension

CORONAVIRUS

CASE COUNTS & COUNTY UPDATES

• More than 1,100 new COVID-19 cases reported in Inland NW on Tuesday (The Spokesman-Review)
• Pierce County reports high number of COVID cases Tuesday as it makes progress on backlog (The News Tribune)
• Coronavirus cases in Benton/Franklin Counties exceeds 16,000 (KVEW/KAPP TV)
• Tri-Cities COVID cases jump 300+. Greatest increase in 20-somethings (Tri-City Herald)
• 72 new cases reported Tuesday, November cases double those in October (The Daily World)
• Thurston adds 67 cases Tuesday as Providence limits some surgeries to preserve capacity (The Olympian)
• Clark County reports 210 new COVID-19 cases as death toll rises to 115 (The Columbian)

BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR

• State Republicans speak out against restriction extension (KPQ Radio)
• Restaurants face a difficult road with pandemic restrictions extended into January (The News Tribune)
• State hospitality association urges Gov. Inslee to reconsider restrictions on restaurants (The Spokesman-Review)
• Representatives of Tri-Cities ask Gov. Inslee to re-open businesses safely (KVEW/KAPP TV)
• Over 2,000 Washington restaurants shuttered during COVID-19 pandemic (KEPR TV)
• 624 Seattle restaurants and bars have closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, survey finds (The Seattle Times)
• Judge rules in favor of Yakima Valley gym owner contesting COVID fine (Yakima Herald-Republic)
• Spiffy’s fined $67,473 for violation of governor’s orders; Sheriff unlikely to enforce pandemic restrictions (The Daily Chronicle)
• State sends plan to feds to help commercial fishers (The Daily World)

COMMUNITY & FAMILY ISSUES

• Washington state report notes virus impact on child welfare (AP/KXLY)
• Spokane divorce lawyers busier than ever amid the pandemic (KHQ TV)
• The lights are up in Leavenworth and people are coming (The Wenatchee World)

CRIME AND LAW ENFORCEMENT

• Benton County Sheriff’s Office won’t enforce Inslee’s extended restrictions (KOMO TV)
• 11 inmates, 4 Okanogan jail staff test positive for COVID-19 (The Wenatchee World)

EDUCATION & SCHOOL SAFETY

• With so many schools online, child maltreatment reports in Washington plummet (The Seattle Times)
• Spokane Public Schools to get rapid COVID-19 tests (The Spokesman-Review)
• OPINION: Schools need resources, not new mandates, in grappling with COVID-19 pandemic (Joel Aune, executive director of the Washington Association of School Administrators/The Spokesman-Review)
• OPINON: Give parents options to decide the best education for their children (Vicki Kraft, State Representative 17th District, The Reflector)
• EDITORIAL: Localized COVID-19 data vital to parents, schools (The Columbian)
• EDITORIAL: Despite surge in coronavrius, reopening school is still possible (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)

GENERAL NEWS

• COVID-19 lockdown to last through Jan. 4 in Washington state (Crosscut)
• Coronavirus restrictions extended to Jan. 4 (AP/The Lewiston Tribune)
• Gov. Inslee extends Washington’s COVID-19 restrictions on gatherings, restaurants, gyms (The Seattle Times)
• COVID first hit long-term care in Puget Sound region. Now it’s hitting home in rural areas (Northwest Public Broadcasting)
• Meet Keiko, a COVID-killing handheld sanitizer developed at Puget Sound Naval shipyard (Kitsap Sun)
• EDITORIAL: Are your hopes dashed by Gov. Inslee’s COVID-19 shutdown extension? They shouldn’t be (The News Tribune)

HEALTH CARE

• With COVID vaccine approval days away, Washington gears up to distribute first doses (MyNorthwest)
• UK probing if allergic reactions linked to Pfizer vaccine (AP/The Seattle Times)
• Spokane hospitals adjust, delay surgery and procedure schedules due to influx of COVID-19 patients (The Spokesman-Review)
• Here’s how Bellingham’s hospital will handle a surge in serious COVID-19 patients (The Bellingham Herald)
• Caregiver says she was fired from Marysville facility after complaining about poor response to COVID-19 outbreak (KING TV)
• EDITORIAL: Vaccine raises its own questions (Daily Record)

HIGHER EDUCATION

• Whitman College, Walla Walla University to welcome students back to campus in January (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)

HOMELESSNESS

• Temporary homeless shelter at former Motel 6 closes (The Columbian)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

• How the city of Spokane supported businesses with its CARES Act funds (The Spokesman-Review)

OTHER STATES

• Oregon sets COVID record with 36 deaths; 1,341 new cases reported (The Oregonian)
• Idaho health board meeting halted after ‘intense protests’ (AP/The Seattle Times)
• Protests stop health board meeting in Boise (AP/The Lewiston Tribune)

SPORTS

• Bremerton shuts down ‘massive’ unauthorized softball tournament at Pendergast Park (Kitsap Sun)
• Fed up with COVID shutdown, rising Puyallup basketball star and family moved to Utah (The News Tribune)

STATE GOVERNMENT

• WA state employees enforcing COVID rules face threats from armed groups (MyNorthwest)
• Prisoners protest after COVID cases triple and officers beat inmate (The Spokesman-Review)
• One in three Airway Heights prisoners have COVID; conditions called obscene (The Spokesman-Review)
• WA inmates say they’re retaliated against for getting COVID-19 (Crosscut)
• COVID outbreak hits Stafford Creek (The Daily World)

TECHNOLOGY

• EDITORIAL: Use your smartphone to help contain the pandemic (The Seattle Times)

TRIBAL ISSUES

• Inchelium under nightly curfew as COVID outbreak surges (The Spokesman-Review)