COVID-19 in Montana (Friday July 17)

GREAT FALLS — Health officials reported 137 new COVID-19 cases across Montana on Friday morning, according to the Montana Response COVID-19 tracking map, and two new deaths.

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

Note: numbers reported by the state each day occasionally differ from those reported by county public health departments due to periodic lag times in reporting data to the state. The numbers below are from the Montana Department of Public Health & Human Services on Friday, July 17th:

• TOTAL CASES & RECOVERIES: There have now been 2,366 cumulative cases statewide, and 992 people have recovered from the virus.
• HOSPITALIZATIONS: There have been 159 hospitalizations due to COVID-19 since the pandemic began; there are currently 45 patients hospitalized.

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

• TESTING: The number of tests increased by 2,564 over the previous 24-hour reporting period, for a new cumulative state-wide total of 130,404.

• DEATHS: The cumulative number of deaths in Montana is now 37. On Thursday, Lewis & Clark County health officials reported its first COVID-19 related death. The second new death reported Friday is connected 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 connection with 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 has been a total of 65 confirmed cases. Of those, 28 are currently active, 35 have recovered, and two died. Four new cases were reported on Thursday evening by the City-County Health Department: a female under 18; a man in his 20s; a man in his 40s; and a woman in her 50s. The CCHD says that as with all other cases, these individuals have been isolated and CCHD is performing contact tracing.

Benefis Health System said in an email on Friday morning: "As we continue to see many new daily COVID-19 cases throughout Montana, the demand for testing has increased beyond capacity. State officials have notified Benefis that the state lab's waiting period is now three to four weeks for results on tests for asymptomatic patients, and the wait is even longer for larger labs outside of Montana. Subsequently, state officials have directed us to stop testing asymptomatic people at this time and focus our testing only on those with symptoms. This significant change to testing is effective immediately." MTN News is trying to get more information about this, and if/how other testing agencies such as Alluvion Health are following suit.

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NEW CASES REPORTED ON JULY 17