The number of COVID-19 cases is increasing locally.
Two weeks ago, Missoula County imposed new restrictions and reconsidered those rules on Thursday.
“Life is more important than property right now,” Will told Faceperm.
Gov. Steve Block ordered new restrictions on Friday, including closing restaurants and bars at 10 p.m., enforcing 50% capacity in that business and limiting the size of the group to 25 people.
The Mizuola County Board of Health has now updated local regulations to include more specific information about occupational capacity limits, and has requested a 10-day written notice for events.
Public Health Officer Alan Lee noted that the incidence of new cases has improved on a daily basis over the past three days, and the transmission rate is also improving – but she wants to see if the numbers are still not here.
Officials had hoped two weeks ago that further sanctions would reduce the incidence rate to 25 per 100,000, but we are not there yet. In fact, our event rate is now lower than it was two weeks ago.
Missoula County recorded a daily incidence rate of more than 50 / 100,000 new cases averaging Oct. 27. The county is now registering an average of 67/100,000 daily cases.
During a public meeting on Thursday, a Missouri and local officials urged them to abide by the rule, saying “we don’t know when the governor’s orders will change.”
“Landscapes will change in the next few weeks, and we’ll probably discuss this again,” Ross Miller of the Health Board noted.
Public comment last week was in favor of tightening sanctions, with some suggesting other lockdowns as well, Missoula County officials said.
“They are advocates of public health, and they want to do the right thing,” commented COVID-19.
But he added that community members, especially business owners, still think about economic impact. “They are also trying to strike a balance in serious financial circumstances.”
Both new orders will start on Friday, November 20th.
Click here to read the latest public order.
(First report)
The Missoula City-County Board of Health voted during a virtual meeting Thursday afternoon to accept changes to existing COVID-19 restrictions as COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the community.
Events and gatherings will require 10 days notice and will also specify capacity limits at retail stores, gyms and venues at the assembly. Additionally, some county requirements are being brought in line with the government’s recent stricter sanctions by Steve Bullock.
Click here to read the latest public order.
Ellen Leahy, Missoula County Public Health Officer, opened the meeting by discussing COVID-19 trends and statistics. “The incidence of new cases has improved on a daily basis in the last three days while the transmission rate is also improving,” Leah said.
She added that the “worrying rate” is that the test’s positivity rate is up from 18% last week to about 12%.
The test extends to a full seven days a week and up to 170 tests are taken daily. Leahy also noted that the Covid-19 case is still being transferred to the new Montana tracking system over the weekend.
According to Leah, the availability of Missoula Hospital is better than most people in the state.
Watch the full press conference below:
COVID-19 sanctions were discussed in Mizola
Public health officials will receive about 1,000 emails and 30 phone calls this week about the proposal. According to the presentation the general spirit of the comment supported about 70% of the proposal.
In addition, public comment shows that people are concerned about public health and want to balance these concerns with financial and economic concerns.
Requests for the event are still being reviewed by the Department of Health for more than 250 people – including annual parade lights, Goodfellows Thanksgiving dinners, winter markets and sporting events.
– Information from Katie Miller and Mark Thorse Russell included in this report.
