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Governor Jay Inslee announced a month-long extension of his "Stay Home, Stay Healthy" emergency order Thursday evening. The order, which banned all gatherings and temporarily shuttered non-essential businesses, continues through May 4.

"Epidemiological modeling from the University of Washington predicts we will have at least 1,400 deaths this year," Inslee said. "We are yet to see the full toll of this virus in our state and the modeling we've seen could be much worse if we don't continue what we're doing to slow the spread."

Effective this past week, Washington State's order of "Stay Home, Stay Healthy" by Governor Inslee was extended to May 4, during his press conference Thursday evening. The virus has affected everyone, most Washingtonians will be home for another month.

This past week, the United States has seen an increase in COVID 19 cases nationally, the numbers far exceeding 300,000 who have tested positive and over 1.2 million people globally. The virus has changed our lives, it has changed our everyday lives.

Every business has been impacted, especially those who had to close or who have seen their business revenue decline by up to 90%. Restaurants in our area are definitely down in business, some even choosing to close. Hair salons have been forced to close, as social distancing is not possible in that profession.

Check in with your local Timberland Library on Facebook! We want to connect with you. Library Facebook pages and the Timberland Regional Library page offer frequent posts on online and virtual library services, and local resources.

Are you practicing social distancing with a baby or toddler at home? If you have read the same book too many times, check out TumbleBooks. Log in with your Timberland library card to access virtual picture books, chapter books, easy non-fiction, early learning games, and more. Visit our website for more information, under "Kids & Teens," or use this link to log in directly: www-tumblebooklibrary-com.ez.trl.org/.

Anxiety over the impacts of the coronavirus on our community, our state, our nation and beyond is all encompassing. The current focus is on containment. But what are the anticipated short and longer-term implications for Pacific County's economy? This is the first of several interviews, which will examine the impacts of the coronavirus outbreak on our local businesses.

On April 2, I talked to Dean Antich, South Bend Products Vice President, about their operations in Pacific County. South Bend Products is a seafood processing business with facilities in South Bend and Chinook.

Much of the country is still having more and more people struck by coronavirus. Through Sunday night, all counties in Washington have reported confirmed cases of COVID-19, except two (Garfield and Pacific), and there were 7,984 confirmed cases and 338 total deaths.

Through Sunday night there were a total of 105 confirmed completed tests in Pacific County. On Friday, 13 people were tested in South Bend at the mobile unit. Also, Pacific County did receive 100 COVID-19 test kits from the state.

Some health experts have reported that 25 percent of the population is walking around with the virus and don't know it. Many rural communities have not been overwhelmed by the outbreak, yet. By phone and email the Herald interviewed Valley View Clinic Manager Sharon Smith (Raymond and Pe Ell clinics) about coronavirus and how it has impacted their clinic.