The state athletic associations of Washington and Idaho on Monday each said that their state basketball tournaments will proceed as planned later this week, but the organizations are monitoring closely the situation involving the COVID-19 virus as more deaths have been reported in Washington state.

As of noon Monday, officials in Washington said the death toll numbers six. That’s up from the two that had been reported late Sunday as the outbreak is spreading from the west side of that state to possibly the east side, and even some areas of Idaho have become affected not by the virus, but residual effects. The school districts in Troy and Genesee canceled classes Monday out of an abundance of concern because their schools were used to house some students who participated in the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival at the University of Idaho.

Students from the Henry M. Jackson High School in Snohomish County stayed at the Genesee school and one student from that school, who didn’t make the trip to Moscow, has tested positive for the novel coronavirus. The test result has yet to be confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency Saturday after word of the first death in the state from the novel coronavirus.

The number of people infected by the strain globally has topped 89,000 and the death toll pushed above the 3,000 mark, striking fears this does become a pandemic. The situation began in the Wuhan province of China in late 2019 and has continued to spread throughout 2020.

In Washington state, officials with the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association put out a news release stating they are receiving guidance from the Washington State Department of Health and are taking precautions based on their recommendations.

“The safety of participants and fans is the primary focus of our organization and we encourage those planning to attend to follow the prevention guidelines distributed by the Center for Disease Control,” the statement reads.

In a follow-up email Monday from Casey Johnson, the WIAA’s sports and activities information director, he said there would be updates made to the membership and public if it is warranted.

The statement also says the facilities involved in the Hardwood Classic — which starts Wednesday at the Tacoma Dome, the Yakima SunDome and Spokane Arena — have upped the amount of hand sanitizer stations and are disinfecting high-touch areas. The WIAA also is encouraging fans to spread throughout the arenas as an extra preventative measure.

The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare has reported the state hasn’t been hit with any cases of COVID-19 as of late Monday. The Idaho High School Activities Association, the state’s athletic association, is taking their cues from IDHW’s guidance.

Ty Jones, executive director of the IHSAA, said in an interview Monday with the Tribune that they have been in contact with IDHW and are confident they have plans in place to deal with any possibility that arises.

“We don’t want to send out any mixed messages,” Jones said. “We are cautiously optimistic we have everything covered right now. The health and safety of our players and our fans are our biggest concerns.”

He said the facilities that are involved in conducting the state tournaments in Idaho — which start Thursday at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa, Borah and Capital high schools in Boise, Meridian High School, and Vallivue and Caldwell high schools in that area — are taking more safety precautions as a result of the situation.

Jones also understands the situation is a fluid one, and events could change what the IHSAA does in real time.

“Unfortunately, there’s a bit of a sit and wait type of component to this,” said Jones, adding that the IHSAA has canceled tournaments in the past because of weather but nothing like this.

Jones said he’s hoping to have more of an update from IDHW today on how to proceed.

“Everything that we could possibly do at this time we have done,” Jones said. “We’re preparing and sitting in a holding pattern all at the same time. We’ll have a contingency plan either way.”

Jones said as soon as the IHSAA has an update, a statement will be released on its website, IDHSAA.org, and shared on its social media channels.

Walden may be reached at (208) 848-2258, dwalden@lmtribune.com, or on Twitter at @waldo9939.