Columbia Basin sports fields and courts will be empty for the foreseeable future after Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced the mandatory closure of all K-12 schools statewide. The closure goes into effect March 17 and lasts until April 24, according to a tweet from Inslee.

Without classes in session, spring prep sports — baseball, softball, boys soccer, unified soccer, boys and girls golf, boys and girls tennis, and boys and girls track and field — are suspended.

“We kind of saw it coming,” said Washington Interscholastic Activities Association Executive Board President Greg Whitmore said.

In the days leading up to the closure, uncertainty about spring sports swirled. Wahluke boys soccer games scheduled for Friday and Saturday against Seattle-area teams University Prep and Seattle Academy were canceled early this week due to coronavirus concerns. Othello baseball was also scheduled to travel to the west side to play Nathan Hale and Chief Sealth, but those games were also canceled early this week.

The WIAA also announced Friday that a tournament worker at the 3A, 4A State Basketball Championships in Tacoma had tested positive for COVID-19.

“The WIAA has been in contact with the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department (TPCHD) and, because the individual became symptomatic after the tournament, the situation has been deemed by health officials to be low risk for those involved with the event,” the WIAA stated in a press release.

Because the individual first showed symptoms on March 9, health officials deemed the earliest that individual could have been contagious was Saturday, March 7, the final day of the tournament.

Moses Lake girls basketball competed at the 4A Girls Hardwood Classic at the Tacoma Dome. Head coach Matt Strophy had not heard the WIAA’s announcement and said he would need to consult with Moses Lake athletic director Loren Sandhop.