Casino closed after employee tests positive

The 12 Tribes Coulee Dam Casino said tonight that an employee had tested positive for COVID-19, so the casino has closed for three to 10 days for “extensive sanitizing.”

The casino posted the announcement on its website and Facebook pages.

The casino closed at 7 p.m. Thursday night, June 18.

“We are working to do an extensive sanitizing of 12 Tribes Coulee Dam Casino and will remain closed at this time until further notice,” said Chief Executive Officer Kary Nichols in a statement on their website. “We thank our communities for their support and understanding.”

The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation and 12 Tribes Colville Casinos are working closely and quickly with tribal and state health officials, the statement continued.

“Our hearts are with those who are affected by COVID-19,” said Nichols.

Okanogan County listed just two additional cases Thursday, one each in Oroville and Brewster. Those numbers may have been published before the casino’s announcement. The county has had a total of 81 cases so far and is currently waiting on another 63 test results.

Grant County reports 20 additional cases in each of the last two days, making 122 new cases and one new death in the last week, of its total 387 positive cases and five deaths.

Eight more are hospitalized in that county.

“People can be contagious before developing any symptoms and prior to getting sick,” county authorities noted in reporting new cases Thursday night.

“The positive cases in Grant County did all the normal things anyone does when they are healthy: go to work, go to grocery stores, go to home improvement stores, hang out with friends and family,” they said. “Please wear a face covering in public, practice physical distancing of 6 feet, avoid large gatherings, wash your hands. We have the tools we need to limit the spread of COVID-19. We just need to use them!