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WIAA confirms Washington state basketball tournaments will go on as planned amid coronavirus concerns

As new cases of coronavirus continue to be reported in Washington state, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association announced this week's state high

Andy Buhler, SBLive Sports

WIAA confirms Washington state basketball tournaments will go on as planned amid coronavirus concerns
WIAA confirms Washington state basketball tournaments will go on as planned amid coronavirus concerns /

As new cases of coronavirus continue to be reported in Washington state, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association announced this week's state high school basketball tournaments will go on with no schedule changes.

"WIAA Staff is in communication with the Washington State Department of Health and will continue to receive guidance regarding our upcoming events," the association said in a press release Monday morning.

The WIAA said it has been working with staff at the Spokane Arena, Yakima SunDome and Tacoma Dome to disinfect "high-touch areas with EPA approved disinfectant."

As of Monday morning, more than 89,000 people worldwide have been infected by the virus named COVID-19 by the World Health Organization and more than 3,000 have died, according to the Associated Press. The vast majority of the deaths have occurred on mainland China.

There are 80 cases the United States, per the AP. The Seattle Times reported that 17 confirmed cases and five deaths have been linked to the virus in Washington. On Saturday, Washington Governor Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency to give state agencies access to additional resources.

Three more deaths were announced late Monday morning at a Washington state nursing care facility, after the WIAA released its statement.

The WIAA moved four regional basketball games from Jackson High School on Saturday after a student tested positive for the virus, and the school announced it would be closing for cleaning on Monday as a result. Several Seattle-area schools are closing out of precautions related to students with flu-like symptoms, including Hazen High School in Renton.

Kingston High School also shut down Monday to disinfect the school, the Kitsap Sun reported, while a student is being tested for the virus.

Colville School District announced Sunday it is closing all schools Monday as it awaits results of a person under investigation for the virus.

As an extra preventative measure, the Washington State Department of Health has encouraged attendees of large events to spread out when possible.

More CDC resources:

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Andy Buhler, SBLive Sports
ANDY BUHLER, SBLIVE SPORTS

Andy Buhler is a Regional Editor of Texas and the national breaking news desk. He brings more than five years of experience covering high school sports across the state of Washington and beyond, where he covered the likes of Paolo Banchero and Tari Eason served on state tournament seeding committees. He works on the SBLive/Sports Illustrated Power 25 national boys basketball rankings. He has covered everything from the Final Four, MLS in Atlanta to local velodrome before diving into the world of preps. His bylines can be found in The News Tribune (Tacoma, Washington), The Associated Press, The Columbian (Vancouver, Washington), The Oregonian and more. He holds a degree from Gonzaga and is based out of Portland, Oregon.

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