Local News

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas has reported its biggest daily increase in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases — 8,258. Hospitalizations also continue to climb. Much of Texas began mandating face coverings Friday on the orders of Gov. Greg Abbott. The mask order carries a $250 fine. The order is the most dramatic about-face that Abbott has made as he retreats...

DETROIT (AP) — Matthew Wolff has been working on his mindset, trying to have a good time regardless of results to help him perform closer to his potential. An ice cream truck outside the Detroit Golf Club seemed to help. Wolff had a roller-coaster round that went well enough Saturday to give him a three-shot lead in the Rocket Mortgage...

BOZEMAN,Mont. (AP) — The wife and the running mate of Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Gianforte, as well as several other top GOP officials, were possibly exposed to the coronavirus after attending an event with the girlfriend of President Donald Trump’s oldest son, the Bozeman Daily Chronicle reported. Gianforte’s wife, Susan, lieutenant governor candidate Kristen Juras, […]

TOKYO (AP) — Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike is poised to be reelected in Sunday’s polls, buoyed by public support for her coronavirus handling despite a recent rise in infections that has raised concerns of a resurgence of the disease. The first woman to head the Japanese capital, Koike. 67, is also viewed as a potential […]

Three climbers were rescued while on Mt. Adams in less than 12 hours. The Yakima County Sheriff’s Office received reports of two injured climbers on Mt. Adams around 7:00 p.m. Friday. According to the YSCO, a 30-year-old male suffered a leg injury, and his female climbing partner suffered a head injury while going down the south climb. The two climbers...

WASHINGTON (AP) — On a day meant for unity and celebration, President Donald Trump vowed to “safeguard our values” from enemies within — leftists, looters, agitators, he said — in a Fourth of July speech packed with all the grievances and combativeness of his political rallies. Trump watched paratroopers float to the ground in a tribute to America, greeted his...

Freddie Freeman tests positive for COVID-19. Masahiro Tanaka gets hit in the head by a line drive. David Price announces he won’t play this season. On this Fourth of July, even the return of baseball didn’t offer much cause for celebration. As teams prepared to start their pandemic-shortened season, sobering examples of the game’s potential danger took place at camps...

UPDATE – Fire crews were able to get the fire under control around 5:00 p.m., after it burned approximately 60 acres. The cause of the fire is still unknown at this point, but a fire investigator is on scene. BENTON CITY, Wash. — Benton County Fire District 2 is working to contain a wildfire that has burned approximately 35 acres, officials...

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RICHLAND, Wash. — Hundreds of Black Lives Matter protesters spent their Fourth of July afternoon marching in the streets of Richland, many of them choosing to wear black on the holiday known for the colors red, white and blue. The protest started at John Dam Plaza at 11 a.m. in a way similar to past peaceful protests in the Tri-Cities...

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A weekly Kansas newspaper whose publisher is a county Republican Party chairman posted a cartoon on its Facebook page likening the Democratic governor’s order requiring people to wear masks in public to the roundup and murder of millions of Jews during the Holocaust. The cartoon on the Anderson County Review’s Facebook page depicts Gov. Laura Kelly...

More than six months into the pandemic, the coronavirus has infected more than 11 million people worldwide, killing more than 525,000. But despite the increasing toll, scientists still do not have a definitive answer to one of the most fundamental questions about the virus: How deadly is it? A firm estimate could help governments predict […]

Throughout Saturday, on this page, we’ll be posting Seattle Times journalists’ updates on the outbreak and its effects on the Seattle area, the Pacific Northwest and the world.

Dina Pupera of Columbia City Cuts has owned her South Seattle salon for 15 years, but is changing things up due to the COVID-19 pandemic and giving mobile haircuts.

NEW YORK (AP) — Nursing home residents are among the Americans getting $1,200 checks as part of the U.S. government’s plan to revive the economy. But with many long-term care facilities under lockdown to prevent COVID-19 outbreaks, what are the rules around how the money is handled? The situation underscores the vulnerability of many elderly […]

Workers are twice as likely to get a pay cut now than they were during the Great Recession, according to labor economists. That's an impact not reflected in unemployment numbers.

A Seattle kindergarten teacher has found a recipe for keeping young learners engaged online.

TRI-CITIES, WA- With Benton and Franklin counties moving to a Modified Phase 1, many businesses have been able to expand their business or re-open. Two of those businesses are restaurants and hair salons.

UMATILLA, OR - Umatilla County Public Health (UCo Health) recognizes community concern surrounding COVID-19. We are working with multiple health agencies and community partners to disseminate accurate and up-to-date information.

Salem, OR — In light of rising COVID-19 case counts over the month of June, including a record-high 375 cases yesterday, Firday, July 3, Governor Kate Brown announced stepped up enforcement statewide on face covering, physical distancing, and occupancy standards…

Many 4th of July celebrations and fireworks shows have been canceled. Here is one thing you can do to have some fun this weekend.

PASCO, WA- Pasco Mayor Saul Martinez signed an emergency order Thursday afternoon to help Pasco restaurants with outdoor seating as Franklin County moves to a modified Phase 1 from Governor Jay Inslee's Safe Start Phased Reopening Plan.

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TRI-CITIES, WA- The Benton Franklin Health District announced on Thursday that they recorded the largest amount of single day positive COVID-19 cases at 215 on Wednesday.

Between 1 April and 31 May 2020, the National IHR Focal Point of Saudi Arabia reported nine new cases of MERS-CoV infection, including five deaths. The cases were reported from Riyadh (seven cases), Assir (one case) and Northern (one case) Regions. Most cases were and ages of the reported cases ranged from 40 to 96 years.

Of the cases reported in Riyadh six were from a hospital outbreak in the region between 21 and 31 May 2020: an index case who was a newly admitted patient, and five secondary cases identified through contact tracing. One of the secondary cases was a health care worker and the other four were in-patients admitted due to other health conditions. All four in-patients were bedridden and above 75 years of age. All reported cases had comorbidities with the exception of the healthcare worker.

Chuck DeGooyer, the longtime leader who was instrumental in establishing the Tri-Cities Cancer Center more than 25 years ago, will retire at the end of the year.  DeGooyer, who has served as chief executive officer of the cancer for seven years, announced his plans to step down on July 1. His last day is Dec. 31, 2020.  DeGooyer helped form cancer…

The post Tri-Cities Cancer Center CEO announces retirement  appeared first on Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business.

On 25 June 2020, the Minister of Health of the Democratic Republic of the Congo declared the end of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak in North Kivu, Ituri and South Kivu Provinces . In accordance with WHO recommendations, the declaration was made more than 42 days after the last person who contracted EVD in this outbreak tested negative twice and was discharged from care.

The outbreak was declared on 1 August 2018 following investigations and laboratory confirmation of a cluster of EVD cases in North Kivu Province. Further investigations identified cases in Ituri and North Kivu Provinces with dates of symptom onset from May to August 2018. In 2019, the outbreak subsequently spread to South Kivu Province, and on 17 July 2019, the WHO Director-General declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 11 outbreaks have been recorded since the first recognized outbreak in 1976. The 10th EVD outbreak in North Kivu, Ituri and South Kivu Provinces was the country's longest EVD outbreak and the second largest in the world after the 2014–2016 EVD outbreak in West Africa.

Jackson Contractor Group Inc. of Walla Walla breaks ground in July on the Pasco Fire Department’s long-anticipated new fire station and headquarters. Jackson submitted the winning bid of $7.5 million to build the 21,800-square-foot Fire Station 84, administrative offices and storage at 4929 W. Court St. The project is expected to be completed in February…

The post Pasco tees off on its next fire station project in July appeared first on Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business.

Dutch Bros Coffee, the popular Oregon coffee chain with a dedicated fan base, will open its seventh local stand in Richland, where it has a deal to buy land on the road leading to the new Duportail Bridge. Bruce Barnes, a Pasco-based Dutch Bros franchisee, will buy a 42,000-square-foot site for the Tri-Cities’ seventh Dutch…

The post Dutch Bros adding coffee stand on approach to Duportail Bridge appeared first on Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business.

The West Richland City Council has hired the construction and design team for the first phase of the city’s new police station. Chervenell Construction of Kennewick and Design West Architects of Kennewick were awarded a progressive design-build contract June 2. The contract is not to exceed $819,672. Design West chose TreanorHL Architects, based in Lawrence,…

The post West Richland hires contractors for police facility appeared first on Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business.

No new confirmed cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD) have been reported in Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu Provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo since 27 April 2020 (Figure 1). While this is a positive development, there remains a risk of re-emergence of EVD. It is critical to maintain surveillance and response operations in the period leading up to the declaration of the end of the outbreak, as well as after the declaration – as outlined in the WHO recommended criteria for declaring the end of the EVD outbreak .

From 11 to 16 June 2020, an average of 2939 alerts were reported per day, of which 2788 (about 95%) were investigated within 24 hours. Of these, an average of 453 alerts were validated as suspected cases each day, requiring specialized care and laboratory testing to rule-out EVD. The number of reported and validated alerts has remained stable in recent weeks. Timely testing of suspected cases continues to be provided from eight laboratories. From 8 to 14 June 2020, 3219 samples were tested including 2513 blood samples from alive, suspected cases; 324 swabs from community deaths; and 382 samples from re-tested patients. Overall, the number of samples tested by the laboratories increased by 3% compared to the previous week.

The Benton County Commission encourages area residents to wear face masks to reduce the spread of the virus that causes Covid-19.   The move came after the Washington Department of Health said it was pausing applications to move both Benton and Franklin counties to Phase 2 of the Safe Start program because of high infection rates in the Tr-Cities.  Phase 2 allows the following…

The post Benton County Commission endorses face masks to reach Phase 2 appeared first on Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business.

On 15 April 2020, WHO received information regarding a confirmed case of yellow fever in Magandi village, Tchibanga city in Nyanga Province of southern Gabon, 590 km from the capital, Libreville.

The case is an 83-year-old male with no known vaccination history for yellow fever. He had onset of symptoms on 30 January 2020 and presented to a health facility on 2 February 2020 with abdominal pain and jaundice. Between 2 February and 9 April, he consulted the Urban Health Centre in Tchibanga, the Christian Alliance Hospital in Bongolo and the University hospital in the capital Libreville where the case received anti-malarial treatment and remained hospitalized until his death on 9 April 2020. On 14 April 2020, the laboratory results received from the WHO Regional Reference Laboratory at the Institute Pasteur in Dakar, Senegal, confirmed yellow fever infection, by seroneutralisation test. The additional differential diagnostic tests performed were negative for dengue, West Nile fever, chikungunya, Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic fever, Zika and Rift Valley fever.

During the past few weeks, I’ve been reading a lot about hope and its necessary role in healing, recovery and moving forward, not only as individuals, but as communities and a nation. I’ve been talking to our local team about the role the U.S. Small Business Administration, or SBA, must have in providing hope to…

The post Paycheck Protection Program still has $130B to support struggling businesses appeared first on Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business.

While Lamb Weston and Mid-Columbia potato growers were dealing with an unexpected surplus of spuds this spring, Mid-Columbia asparagus farmers had a different tale to tell. They had the skilled cutters they needed to bring in the harvest and prices were strong. 2020 was a solid year for the iconic first shoots of spring, thanks…

The post Uncertainty abounds: What does 2020 hold for agriculture? appeared first on Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business.

While the quality of grapes and winemaking in Washington state remain world-class, the global glut of wine continues to cut into the industry’s bottom line. Consumers stand to benefit, whenever shelter-in-place restrictions and pandemic-affected spending allow. “The Washington grape market is suffering from a structural imbalance between supply and demand that will likely require substantial…

The post Global gut: Wine grape glut may cut into industry’s profits appeared first on Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business.

No new confirmed cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD) have been reported in Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu Provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo since 27 April 2020 (Figure 1).

The source of infection of the cluster reported in April 2020 remains unconfirmed.

On 20 April 2020, WHO received information regarding a confirmed yellow fever case in Galangashie health area, located 30 km from Mango village, Oti district, Savanes region in the northern part of Togo.

The case is a 55-year-old woman with no vaccination history for yellow fever. She had onset of symptoms on 31 January 2020 and presented to a health facility on 3 February 2020 with fever and aches. The following day she developed jaundice and a blood sample was taken. On 7 February , the blood sample was transported to the national laboratory. On 10 February , the sample from the case was received at the national laboratory and test results on 17 March were Immunoglobulin M (IgM) positive for yellow fever. The positive yellow fever result was confirmed by the Institute Pasteur in Dakar Senegal, a yellow fever reference laboratory on 14 April 2020 by seroneutralisation.

No new confirmed cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD) have been reported in Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu Provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo since 27 April 2020 (Figure 1).

The source of infection of the cluster reported in April 2020 remains unconfirmed.