More testing will allow Washington state to relax some social distancing measures because we’ll be able to identify sick people early and keep them isolated. Here’s how we can get there. If you feel sick and think it’s COVID-19, how quickly can you get tested for the virus? Until last week, if you had close contact with a COVID-19 positive person, but developed no symptoms, you may have been told to just stay home.
- PUB DATE: 5/8/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Oregon Public Broadcasting

Hot and dry weather is predicted for Mother’s Day weekend (May 9-10), presenting an elevated risk for wildfires across the state. The Washington State Department of Natural Resources has already responded to 230 wildfires this year. Of those, 120 were caused by people burning debris. Winds this weekend could see gusts of up to 25 mph and temperatures are expected to reach the high 70s and mid-80s.
- PUB DATE: 5/7/2020 9:07:48 PM - SOURCE: Kent Reporter

When we think workers' compensation, we think of falling on the job, maybe breaking a bone. However, along with injuries, workers' compensation also covers illness. Of the hundreds of workers' compensation claims related to COVID-19 in this state, roughly 83% are from frontline workers — those who work in patient care.
- PUB DATE: 5/7/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KING-TV News NBC 5 Seattle

A spate of recent fires at homeless camps in the city has prompted new questions about the thresholds for removal of the encampments during the current COVID-19 crisis. Early Saturday morning, crews were forced to close Interstate 5 in both directions because of a fire in a small homeless camp located in the middle of the highway directly underneath the Washington State Convention Center.
- PUB DATE: 5/7/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KOMO-TV ABC 4 and Radio 1000

One person was injured in the first of four fires that burned in Yakima from Tuesday night to Wednesday afternoon. Firefighters were called to the 200 block of Oak Street at 11:28 p.m. Tuesday for a fire that started in a tree and spread to a six-plex, according to a fire department news release. While only the building’s siding and a vehicle parked in the area were damaged, a man with a second-degree burn on his arm was treated at the scene, the release said.
- PUB DATE: 5/6/2020 6:36:12 PM - SOURCE: Yakima Herald-Republic