GREAT FALLS — The website that tracks COVID-19 in Montana reported on Wednesday (May 6) that there have been no new cases since Tuesday, marking the first time since March that the state has recorded no new cases over a two-day period, as there were also no new cases reported on Tuesday.
There are currently 23 active COVID-19 cases in Montana: seven in Toole County, five in Yellowstone County, three in Cascade County, two in Lewis & Clark County, and one each in Broadwater, Park, Lincoln, Big Horn, Glacier, and Silver Bow counties.
The following data is from DPHHS:
- There have been a total of 417 recovered patients to date. The number of recoveries by county has not been released at this point.
- There are currently an estimated 23 active cases in Montana.
- There have been 16 deaths in Montana to date. There have been six deaths in Toole County, two in Cascade County, two in Flathead County, two in Yellowstone County, and one each in Lincoln County, Madison County, Missoula County, and Gallatin County.
- There have now been 62 hospitalizations to date of COVID-19 patients in Montana; 6 of those are "active (current) hospitalizations."
- The DPHHS public health lab has completed 19,704 tests for COVID-19. The number of tests per county is not included in the DPHHS updates.
- Click here to see the current total of confirmed and active cases by county
TESTING: The increase of more than 4,000 completed tests since Tuesday' report was explained in an email from DPHHS: "COVID-19 testing was initially available solely through the CDC. COVID-19 PCR testing capability was implemented by the Montana Public Health Laboratory (MTPHL) on March 9. Private laboratories began implementing COVID-19 testing in the weeks following and Montana has added those private lab tests to our testing data published online. Private laboratories include reference laboratories and those in smaller hospital labs performing point-of-care testing."
RESTAURANTS: Many restaurants have begun to re-open their dining rooms, as Governor Steve Bullock's three-phase "Re-opening The Big Sky" plan allowed such beginning on Monday, May 4th. They are re-opening with enhanced safety and health protocols in place; click here to read more.
RE-OPENING THE BIG SKY: Bullock last month released a three-phase plan for re-opening businesses and other activities across Montana - click here for details.
SCHOOLS: The Great Falls Public Schools Board of Trustees said last Friday that they will not re-open campuses, and distance learning will continue for the remainder of the current school year. Click here to read more. Many other school districts announced last week that they will not re-open classrooms for the remainder of the school year, including Billings, Bozeman, Glasgow, Missoula, Butte, Helena, and Whitefish.
BLACKFEET TRIBE: The Blackfeet Tribe reported on Friday that a tribal member has died as a result of COVID-19. Tribal officials note the person - who we have learned was an older male - was not on the Blackfeet Reservation at the time of his passing. “Our thoughts and prayers to the family during this time,” the Tribe said in a social media post. The man's death is not yet reflected in the official DPHHS totals.
CASCADE COUNTY: According to the City-County Health Department in Great Falls, there have been two COVID-19 deaths in Cascade County. According to MT DPHHS, there have been 16 COVID-19 cases in Cascade County to date; 11 of those cases are now listed as recovered, and three cases are currently listed as "active."
FERGUS COUNTY: The Tuesday number of total cases showed a decrease of one since Monday. DPHHS explained in a news release: "Users may notice that the overall COVID case number has decreased by one since yesterday's report. After a thorough public health investigation, Montana public health officials have determined that a case thought to be from Fergus County is not a resident of Montana and the patient has not been in Montana for nearly a year. Since this case poses no known risk to residents of Montana, it has been removed from the count."
THE REBOUND: MONTANA: We know the COVID-19 pandemic is changing our community. To keep you and your family informed as we move forward, we're beginning a new series of reports. They are stories that will help all of us navigate through these uncertain times. In the coming weeks and months, we'll be focusing on “The Rebound: Montana.” It is a series of reports, videos, and information that show our commitment to stories that will help you as our communities begin to rebound - from what you'll need to know when it's time to go back to work, to how those in the community continue to step up and help others.