Restrictions forced by the COVID-19 pandemic caused delays and exacerbated court backlogs this year, but defendants in several major 2019 cases were sentenced.
The pandemic public health measures caused a huge backlog in criminal and civil cases in district and superior courts.
In March, the court system suspended trials but criminal hearings continued with new safety precautions. More than two months later, Superior Court began holding live-streamed virtual court.
Over the summer, staff transformed portions of the Cowlitz County Event Center into courtrooms large enough to hold socially-distanced jury trials.
The first criminal trial held since March was held Sept. 23. Everyone wore face masks, jurors sat six feet apart and plexiglass surrounded the witness stand and separated the prosecution and defense.
December 21, 2020
An inmate at the Airway Heights Corrections Center near Spokane died Friday of complications from COVID-19.
The inmate, whose name and age weren’t released, died at a local health care facility and is the fifth inmate in a Washington state corrections facility to die from complications of the virus.
One state corrections officer has also died from COVID-19.
Earlier this month, the department said 792 inmates, or more than 40 percent of the inmates at the Airway Heights facility, had tested positive for the coronavirus. (AP) Tags: Airway Heights Corrections Center, Coronavirus Deaths
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KXLY
December 19, 2020 3:33 PM Emily Oliver
SPOKANE, Wash. Health officials reported the second lowest overnight spike in COVID-19 cases Spokane County has seen in recent weeks on Saturday.
An additional 192 people have tested positive for the virus. Spokane saw its lowest case spike since early November on Wednesday when 129 people tested positive. At the time, health officials tentatively credited statewide restrictions for avoiding a post-Thanksgiving surge in cases.
That said, Spokane also saw its highest spike in cases on Dec. 8 when 686 people tested positive. The Spokane Regional Health District said a recent outbreak at the Airway Heights Corrections Center was partially to blame for that shocking rise in numbers.
KXLY
December 18, 2020 3:23 PM Connor Sarles
Updated:
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AIRWAY HEIGHTS, Wash. The Airway Heights Correction Center COVID outbreak has now swelled to 1,261 cases, far and away the largest outbreak of any prison in the state.
This week alone, nearly 400 people have contracted the virus.
According to the Department of Corrections COVID dashboard, 1,261 inmates and 122 staff members have tested positive for the coronavirus. With 1,884 inmates at Airway Heights, this outbreak has infected roughly 67-percent of the inmate population.
Despite the surge in cases in just the last few weeks, the Department of Health says it is not coordinating a COVID-19 response with the DOC.
The Washington Department of Corrections (DOC) posted an announcement Wednesday evening regarding the COVID outbreaks in their facilities as well as their response to the concerns of inmates and family members.Â
The DOC says that their staff has been working extended hours to maintain the essential operations inside the facilities.Â
The DOC has a total of 1,777 active cases of COVID-19 among inmates in the jails currently.
911 inmates have successfully recovered. Washington is 29th out of 50 states for amount of positive cases and 36th out of 50 states for cases as a percentage of the population.Â
The DOC outlined information on each facility in their report. This includes outbreaks central to the Inland Northwest correctional facilities, like Airway Heights Corrections Center.Â