Thomas Clouse

With about 75 percent of the nation under stay-at-home orders, agriculture officials said they do not fear that food-processing operations pose a risk for spreading the coronavirus.

Spokane area banks and credit unions are now offering payment deferments that allow anyone who has lost their job as a result of the coronavirus outbreak to put a hold on paying mortgages and some loans to help them through the crisis, officials said.

Spokane-area farmers have begun spring planting, and apple growers set a new sales record during panic buying as the region continues to adjust to a pandemic that has disrupted most daily lives.

The decision earlier this week by Gov. Jay Inslee to consider construction as a non-essential business has caused local homebuilders to mostly shut down and caused disruption with some homebuyers who now have to wait for completion.

A day after telling employees it would remain open, Huntwood Industries abruptly changed course Thursday and laid off the bulk of about 500 employees at its Liberty Lake headquarters.

Even though he believed his Spokane-based cleaning business fit Gov. Jay Inslee’s definition of “essential,” owner Mark Silver pondered his friend who has a compromised immune system. Silver then shut everything down.

Shoppers at the Rosauers in north Spokane were greeted Wednesday with an employee holding a spray bottle and a towel. He wiped down every cart handle before handing it to shoppers.

The paper products aisles at several Spokane grocery stores on Wednesday afternoon continued to be deserted islands of shelves with placards reminding shoppers to take just one package each. While supply chains are improving at local stores, managers believe it could take suppliers weeks to catch up to the panic-buying onslaught that emptied most supplies of paper products, flour, sugar, eggs, pasta, canned goods and sanitizing wipes.

With conditions changing sometimes by the minute, some area manufacturers are struggling to make sure employees remain safe while they try to keep their businesses viable.

About 100 Idaho restaurants have signed an open letter calling for Idaho Gov. Brad Little to follow his colleagues’ lead in other states to further protect employees and customers, and provide a safety net for thousands of employees who may lose work because of the coronavirus.

Spokane shoppers continue to ravage grocery store shelves, but they also have begun buying guns, ammunition and camping supplies as the coronavirus panic has turned to thoughts home defense.

Most counties in the state of Washington, including Spokane County, have been designated disaster areas, which qualifies area business owners to apply for loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration to help cover costs caused by the fiscal impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

Nordstrom announced Tuesday it is temporarily closing all of its stores in response to the coronavirus outbreak. The closures were expected to go into effect immediately.

Along with consumers’ mad dash to buy all the toilet paper stores can stock, some Spokane residents have either called their banks or chosen to withdraw cash as the stock market fluctuates and restaurants close.

Hotelier Walt Worthy announced Monday he has closed four of his five hotels in Spokane because of a lack of business and will be redirecting all of his patrons to stay in The Davenport Grand Hotel. Meanwhile, the Kalispel Tribe of Indians announced it was closing Northern Quest Resort & Casino in Airway Heights, after a visitor tested positive for COVID-19.

Bishop Gretchen Rehberg was an Episcopal minister in New York when airplanes struck the World Trade Center in 2001 and caused a crisis that compelled thousands of Americans to seek reassurance in houses of worship.

The NCAA made the unprecedented move Wednesday of requiring all men’s and women’s NCAA Basketball Tournament games to be played in mostly empty arenas.

Avista Corp. announced Tuesday that it plans to follow guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including asking employees who can to work from home and encouraging customers to pay their utility bills online rather than in person.

Time actually stood still Monday as financial markets dropped so fast they triggered an internal “circuit breaker” that shut down trading for the first time since 1997.

Despite the University of Washington’s announcement Friday to move all classes online, Washington State University, the University of Idaho and other area colleges will continue holding classes while monitoring developments with the coronavirus outbreak, officials said. The UW said it will stop classes for nearly 60,000 students at its three campuses. The change will take effect Monday and run through the end of winter quarter on March 13.

Spokane-area homeowners are flocking to local lenders as they seek to take advantage of mortgage rates at or near historical lows.

Visitors to major gatherings at the Spokane Convention Center and sporting events at the Spokane Arena can expect to find additional hand-sanitizer stations and more aggressive cleaning of restrooms but all events are proceeding as scheduled as reaction grows to the coronavirus outbreak.

Shoppers at the Costco on East Sprague in Spokane Valley walked Monday past the place where they expected to find toilet paper. They found the bundles of paper towels and cases of bottled water but all of the outhouse necessaries were sold out.