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A state legislator in North Idaho is using her official government newsletter to urge constituents to defy Gov. Brad Little’s order to stay home in face of the coronavirus pandemic. Rep. Heather Scott, a Republican who represents the Blanchard area, sent the newsletter Thursday morning. It was titled, in part, “the virus that tried to kill the Constitution.”

A new Crosscut/Elway Poll of Washington voters conducted between Christmas and New Year’s Eve found 55% intended to get vaccinated, including 37% who were certain to get vaccinated as soon as they could. Eighteen percent said they were very likely to get the vaccine, but 27% said they planned to wait and see and 15% were certain they would not get vaccinated.

The president made an unexpected appearance at Thursday's White House opioid summit. "It's a problem that's growing," he said of the drug epidemic that has struck the country.

To safely reopen without risking new COVID-19 outbreaks, states need enough staffing to do the crucial work of contact tracing. We surveyed public health agencies to find out how much they have.

With his current stay home order set to expire in less than a week, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Tuesday strongly suggested that, even though the COVID-19 peak appears to have passed, he intends to leave in place most of the current restrictions for the foreseeable future.

Ultimately, presiding judge Kristin Ferrera sided with the state and did not issue an injunction on the emergency order. She said she didn’t have enough evidence on its current harms to the plaintiffs, representing business owners and individuals in Chelan and Douglas counties.

After weeks of relying on voluntary compliance, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Tuesday afternoon announced an enforceable, statewide requirement that people wear face coverings when in public, including outdoors when six feet of separation can't be maintained. The new public health order, to be issued by the Secretary of Health, takes effect on Friday.

This week Oregon and California took steps to slow or rollback their re-openings, and Washington could be next, Gov. Jay Inslee said. Dramatic growth in COVID cases over the past month has pushed the state over its previous peak in April.

As the number of COVID-19 cases skyrockets nationwide, the extent of the public health response varies from one state — and sometimes one town — to the next. The incongruous approaches and the lack of national standards have created confusion, conflict and a muddled public health message, likely hampering efforts to stop the spread of the virus. The country’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said last month that the country needs “a uniform approach” to fighting the virus instead of a “disjointed” one.

Since early in the pandemic, rapid contact tracing has been considered one of the keys to controlling the spread of the coronavirus. But in recent weeks, an overwhelming surge in new cases has let thousands of COVID-positive people and their close contacts fall through the cracks.