Here are Thurston County’s coronavirus-related closures and cancellations
There has been a steady stream of changes to events and business operations in the Thurston County area as the capacity to test for COVID-19 in the state has expanded and more confirmed cases of the illness are discovered.
This week, the trickle turned to a torrent of closures and cancellations after response to the illness’s spread intensified at the state and local levels.
Gov. Jay Inslee’s most aggressive actions so far have focused on three counties to Thurston’s north: Pierce, King, and Snohomish. Of the 457 total confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state Friday morning, 395 were in those three counties along with 30 of the 31 fatalities statewide.
Inslee banned gatherings of 250-plus people in those counties Wednesday and ordered all K-12 public and private schools in the three counties close from March 17 to April 24 on Thursday.
Thurston County Board of Health took its own action Thursday afternoon by banning gatherings of 250 people or more and setting social-distancing requirements for events with fewer than 250. Thurston County commissioners also declared COVID-19 a local emergency.
The county saw its first confirmed case, a Department of Health employee in Tumwater who’s in their 50s, on Wednesday.
The escalation has prompted more local businesses, schools, and organizations to change plans in major ways — some closing altogether.
As of Friday morning:
Schools
Public school districts in Thurston County will close.
South Puget Sound Community College announced Thursday it’s moving most classes to online instruction starting Monday, March 16, through at least May 1. Classes with hands-on components will plan classes with social-distancing measures in mind. Its Winter Quarter is ending early, on March 20, and Spring Quarter will start late, on April 13. Campus, including food services and childcare, will stay open unless there’s a confirmed case of COVID-19 connected to the campus — in that case, it would close for disinfecting.
St. Martin’s University will also move to online classes starting Monday. It will keep campus open and wrote in its Thursday announcement that more details on the closure will be shared soon.
The Evergreen State College will move instruction online for the first four weeks of this spring quarter, which will begin April 2, the college announced Friday.
Public agencies and services
Timberland Regional Library entered “Stage Two” in its response Friday, meaning locations can only be used for pick-up, checkout, return, and quick browsing — no studying, reading, or computer use is allowed on-site and seating areas aren’t available to the public.
The City of Olympia has canceled all Parks, Arts & Recreation classes, activities and programs through at least March 31, according to an email from the city. The cancellations include indoor and outdoor facility rentals at The Olympia Center, Harbor, House, city fields and school fields. It also canceled all advisory board and commission meetings and postponed its annual Arbor Day Celebration with a caveat that “it may be rescheduled for a later date.”
Decisions about City Council meetings will be made soon, according to the city’s announcement.
The Olympia Police Department is looking into whether some staff can work from home and contingency planning to make sure services can continue.
“We are going to be here, and we’re going to take care of folks, and we’re going to continue to keep this community safe,” Lt. Paul Lower told The Olympian Friday. “We’ve done extensive planning to make that happen.”
Lacey Police Department has temporarily suspended all fingerprinting services, and Thurston County Sheriff’s Office isn’t accepting Concealed Pistol License applications that require fingerprinting and not providing any other fingerprinting services through March 31.
Lacey Parks and Recreation facility reservations are canceled. This includes indoor and outdoor facility rentals at the Lacey Community Center, Jacob Smith House, city fields, and school fields. All Lacey Parks and Recreation programs and events are canceled, and the Lacey Museum and Virgil S. Clarkson Senior Center are closed to the public. Parks and restrooms remain open.
Intercity Transit closed its administrative building at 526 Pattison St. SE to the public, canceled and postponed public meetings until further notice, and is allowing employees to telework. Most public transportation services weren’t impacted as of Friday, aside from the suspension of Village Vans, which provide tree transportation for employment-related activities to people with low incomes in the area.
Intercity Transit also will temporarily discontinue some routes and reduce service on others. Effective March 14: Nightline will be discontinued until further notice. Effective March 16: The One and Dash service will be discontinued until further notice. Effective March 18: the number of daily trips on the Olympia Express service to Pierce County will be reduced. Olympia Express service between Lakewood and Tacoma Dome Station will be discontinued until further notice. All northbound trips will end in Lakewood at the SR 512 Park & Ride. All southbound trips will depart from the same park and ride.
The state Department of Enterprise Services, which manages the state Capitol Campus, has canceled all permitted events through April 24.
The Thurston County Auditor’s Office has suspended all passport services through April 27.
The Office of the Secretary of State will suspend public access to critical in-person services on March 16 until further notice.
Washington Center for the Performing Arts
▪ Gabriel Rutledge Comedy Night has been rescheduled for June 21.
▪ Olympia Symphony’s “From Teacher to Pupil” has been postponed.
▪ Chris Perondi’s stunt dog experience shows have been canceled.
▪ The Olympia Youth Chorus 25th Anniversary Concert and reception scheduled for March 21 has been canceled.
Minnaert Center at SPSCC
▪ Olympia Peace Choir festival has been canceled.
▪ Evolution has been canceled.
▪ Engineering with nature has been canceled.
▪ Nature photographers of the Pacific Northwest has been canceled.
▪ Modern Warrior live has been canceled.
Businesses and organizations
▪ Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mound will temporarily close, starting at 2 p.m. March 15 and reopening April 2.
▪ Thurston Chamber of Commerce has postponed all chamber events, including TYP Smart Talks, Business After Hours and A Night on the Town through March 31.
▪ LeMay Pacific Disposal has temporarily closed its front office in Lacey to walk-in traffic. Customers can still make payments via mail, drop off (night drop box is on the side of building) by phone and online.
Other community cancellations, closures, and changes
▪ Capital City Pride for June 2020 has been canceled, according to announcements on its website and Facebook page.
▪Squaxin Island Tribal Council has notified Shelton School District that children from the tribe will no longer be going to school, according to an announcement by the tribe Friday. The tribe is also limiting the number of people who come onto the reservation from outside, putting projects and construction on hold, and operating tribal government with essential personnel only. The Child Development Center will stay open.
▪ WET Science Center is temporarily closed until further notice.
▪ The Olympia Center is closed to the public until further notice.
▪ Lucky Leprechaun Bingo and Pie Fest, set for March 13-14 at the Olympia Senior Center, have been canceled.
▪ The Medicare 101 class at the Olympian Senior Center on March 19 has been canceled.
▪ The Thurston County IANDS meeting, featuring Dr. Mary Neal, which was set for 3-5:30 p.m. March 16, has been canceled.
▪ The Olympia World Affairs Council is canceling the March 19 event, “Ethiopia: Ethnic Federalism and the Narrow Path to Peace.”
▪ The City of Lacey canceled its A.C.T. Teen Night scheduled for Friday, March 13, at Chinook Middle School.
▪ The Olympia Tumwater Foundation’s “Heritage Builders” local history programs at the Schmidt House in Tumwater are being canceled until further notice, including the noon history talk series for the remainder of the season through June, and monthly guided tours with Bob Crim.
▪ Nisqually Land Trust has postponed its annual dinner and auction scheduled for March 14.
▪ The Luminary Procession and Procession of the Species will not take place on April 24-25, Earthbound Productions announced, but they also won’t be canceled. “Instead, we are re-positioning production scenarios that will best match the needs of our community with dates later this year,” Director Eli Sterling said.
▪ Friday and Saturday Bikini Kill shows, which were to benefit Interfaith Works, at the Capitol Theater have been postponed and are expected to be rescheduled in October or November. Tickets will be honored at make-up shows or refunded for people who can’t attend.
If your business or organization is changing plans due to the COVID-19 outbreak, please reach out to news@theolympian.com.
This story was originally published March 13, 2020 at 10:05 AM.
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