GREAT FALLS — As the nation continues to come to grips with the news that President Donald Trump tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday night before flying to Walter Reed Medical Center on Friday afternoon, the Treasure State continues to see its virus numbers increase.
The state set its new single-day record for new COVID-19 cases on September 18 with 292; then again with 331 on September 23; then 344 on September 25; then 347 on September 29; and finally 429 new cases on September 30.
There were 360 new cases and five new deaths added to the total on the Montana COVID-19 tracking site on Friday morning. One of the new deaths was in Cascade County, and two were in Roosevelt County. Montana now reports 13,855 cumulative cases statewide, with 9,569 people recovered. The state reports 177 current hospitalizations, and a cumulative total of 729 hospitalizations. The state reports there are currently 4,100 active COVID-19 cases in Montana. The cumulative number of deaths in Montana is at 186, an increase of five since yesterday.
- What constitutes a recovery? Click here for details
- Why are cases increasing? Click here for details
- Privacy laws and HIPAA: Click here for details
On Friday, Cascade City-County Health Officer Trisha Gardner offered some explanation as to what could be driving the recent spike in cases. “We’ve gotten into fall, so school has started, we have had an uptick in sporting events and the like,” she said. “We also had a pretty major holiday where people gather. So, Labor Day, about a week to two weeks after Labor Day, we really started seeing a big increase in that. We’ve also had some major outbreaks in communal settings such as our detention facility.”
One thing to also consider is that viruses like COVID-19 spread exponentially. That is not to diminish the numbers that are being reported, but, as Gardner puts it, when more people contract Coronavirus, then even more people are going to contract Coronavirus.
The Cascade City-County Health Department has been working closely with Great Falls Public Schools since before the 2019-2020 school year had even adjourned for the summer, and they will continue to do so throughout the pandemic. At a Cascade County Commission meeting on Friday afternoon, the Commission voted to approve two contracts that will further establish relationships between the County Health Department and Alluvion Health and GFPS, respectively. One contract will provide the CCHD with more staff when needed. The other appoints deputy public health officials within the school district that can act on the health department’s behalf to perform contact identification, notification, and quarantine.
“What that means is, as Health Officer and as a Health Department, we have the ability to designate people that can help work with us on communicable disease on our behalf,” Gardner explained. “This is formalizing that process with the Great Falls Public Schools, so it enables us to use their staff and increase our capacity to respond quickly when a case does happen and notify people, so that’s the ultimate goal.”
Gardner told the forum during the Commission meeting that nurses at each school in the district were already performing this duty before the approval of the contract, but now the goal is to add an additional administrator from as many schools as possible.
There have also been concerns among parents, students, and other residents about whether leaving schools open and continuing sports schedules across the district and the state is a good idea. Trisha said that, while the possibility of moving all students to remote learning and shutting down sports is something that could be considered if the situation gets to that point, it’s not necessary at this point.
“The most important thing that we need to remember is that a lot of these cases are originating from settings outside of school and work facilities,” she said. “It’s when people are letting down their guard, becoming a little bit more relaxed. They think that they might not be as at increased of a risk when they’re around friends and families or going out for dinner or social events, anything of that nature, and those are really the times that they need to be even more vigilant about implementing that social distancing, that mask usage, and sanitation practices. Those are being done very consistently in schools and businesses, it’s the outside events that we’re seeing that not happening.”
Gardner also addressed the comments made by Dr. Deborah Birx, the Coronavirus Response Coordinator for the White House Coronavirus Task Force, to MTN News earlier this week. She said she’s not surprised that Montana is receiving national attention, given their recent spike in cases. She also reinforced that everyone has a part to play in keeping each other safe during the pandemic.
“Every individual has that responsibility to do their part with social distancing, wearing their masks, staying home when they’re sick, and taking those proper steps for sanitation, and everything else, and getting tested,” Gardner said. “That’s an important piece as well. If we all are doing that consistently, we’re going to see the numbers drop, if we are not, and right now, I can most definitively say we are not, there are many, many people not taking this seriously, and not playing their part in mitigating the spread of this virus, and it’s going to continue to spread and affect things.”
As for the potential that Montanans go under another statewide stay-at-home order similar to the one ordered by Governor Bullock back in March, Gardner said that it may be possible, but didn’t go so far as to say that it was likely. She said that there isn’t a set number of cases per day or total that could force everyone back inside, but that it is a fluid number that will take into consideration daily numbers, hospital capacity, stress on emergency services, public health workers, and community partners.
CASCADE COUNTY: Cascade County has reported a cumulative number of 825 cases, an increase of 28 from yesterday. Of those, 435 are listed as recovered, 384 are currently listed as active. Six people have died - an increase of one. The City-County Health Department in Great Falls provided the following information about the 28 new cases:
- (2) male 0-9
- (1) female 10-19
- (4) female 20-29
- (4) male 20-29
- (1) female 30-39
- (3) male 30-39
- (1) female 40-49
- (2) male 40-49
- (2) male 50-59
- (4) female 60-69
- (2) male 60-69
- (1) male 70-79
- (1) male 80-89
During a news conference with Governor Steve Bullock in Helena on Wednesday, representatives from hospitals around the state say they’re feeling the stress from the increase in COVID hospitalizations. Benefis Health System in Great Falls is currently at 115% capacity, with 37 patients hospitalized due to COVID complications, seven of whom are in the ICU. Click here to read more.