COVID-19 in Montana (Friday, July 17)

GREAT FALLS – Health officials reported 137 new cases of COVID-19 in Montana on Friday morning, according to the Montana Response COVID-19 Tracking Map, and two new deaths.

Governor Steve Bullock announced Wednesday a statewide directive requiring masks / masks in Montana. The directive is effective immediately in counties that have four or more active COVID-19 cases. The directive requires that masks be worn in most indoor settings and where social distancing cannot be maintained. Bullock said companies will have the right to deny entry to anyone who does not wear a mask. Click here for details on the policy..

Note: The numbers reported by the state each day sometimes differ from those reported by county public health departments due to periodic delays in submitting data to the state. The numbers below are from the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services on Friday, July 17:

• TOTAL CASES AND RECOVERIES: Now there has been 2,366 cumulative cases statewide, and 992 people have recovered from the virus.
• HOSPITALIZATIONS Has been 159 hospitalizations for COVID-19 since the pandemic began; There are currently Four. Five hospitalized patients.

• ACTIVE CASES: The state reports that there is currently 1,337 active cases of COVID-19 in Montana.

• TESTS: The number of tests increased by 2,564 during the previous 24-hour reporting period, for a new cumulative statewide total of 130,404.

• DEAD: The cumulative number of deaths in Montana is now 37. On Thursday, Lewis and Clark County health officials reported their first COVID-19-related death. The second new death reported Friday is related to Canyon Creek Memory Care, a Billings senior care facility struggling with a deadly outbreak of the virus. Five other deaths have been reported this week in relation to Canyon Creek. There have been six deaths in Toole County, four in Yellowstone County, four in Big Horn County, two in Cascade County, and two in Flathead County. The other deaths have been reported in Gallatin, Lincoln, Madison, Ravalli, Missoula and Big Horn counties.

In Cascade County, there have been a total of 65 confirmed cases. Of these, 28 are currently active, 35 have recovered and two died. On Thursday night, the City and County Health Department reported four new cases: a woman under the age of 18; a man in his 20s; a man in his 40s; and a woman in her 50s. CCHD says that, as with all other cases, these individuals have been isolated and CCHD is conducting a contact trace.

The Benefis Health System said in an email Friday morning: “As we continue to see many new cases of COVID-19 across Montana, the demand for evidence has increased beyond capacity. State officials have reported Benefis that the state laboratory waiting period is now three to four weeks to obtain test results for asymptomatic patients, and the wait is even longer for larger laboratories outside Montana. Subsequently, state officials have ordered us to Let’s stop testing asymptomatic people right now and focus our testing only on those with symptoms. A significant change in testing is effective immediately. ” MTN News is trying to get more information on this, and if / how other evaluation agencies like Alluvion Health are following suit.

NEW CASES REPORTED ON JULY 17