COVID-19 continues to rage in Spokane and Moses Lake areas

SPOKANE — The coronavirus pandemic continues to rage in the Spokane region, with outbreaks linked to long-term care facilities and the Airway Heights Corrections Center.

Meanwhile, Grant County continues to see the effects of a 300-person wedding near Ritzville that became a COVID-19 superspreader event. That November wedding has been linked to outbreaks and possible deaths in long-term care facilities in the Moses Lake area.

The Spokesman-Review reports health officials determined that care facilities staff in Grant County attended the wedding and later tested positive for COVID-19.

At least three care facilities in Grant County have reported outbreaks since the wedding, but a definitive connection between those outbreaks and the wedding remains unclear, according to a press release.

In neighboring Adams County, seven COVID-19 cases are linked to the wedding, officials said.

Washington’s COVID-19 guidance limits wedding ceremonies to 30 people with indoor receptions prohibited.

In Spokane County there were 969 new COVID cases reported Saturday-Monday.

The Airway Heights Corrections Center is experiencing a fast-growing outbreak, reporting 541 confirmed cases of the virus, as of Monday. No deaths have been reported at the prison.