HELENA — There were 1,217 new COVID cases reported in Montana on Thursday, with a current total of 11,763 active cases in the state, according to the Montana Department of Public Health & Human Services (DPHHS). Information from DPHHS at this point does not include data on whether new cases occurred among vaccinated or unvaccinated people.
The number of Montanans who have died due to COVID now stands at 2,009, an increase of eight from Wednesday. DPHHS say seven of those eight deaths occurred in September, and one as part of data reconciliation going back to August 2021. The deaths occurred in the following counties: (1), Custer (1), Glacier (1), Golden Valley (1), Sheridan (1), Stillwater (1), and Wheatland (2).
The number of people currently hospitalized in Montana due to COVID has dropped from 418 on Wednesday to 415. The cumulative number of hospitalizations in Montana due to the virus is 7,657.
DPHHS released a report on Monday highlighting Montana data from February 2021 to September 2021, and found that 89.5% of the cases, 88.6% of hospitalizations, and 83.5% of the deaths were among people who were not fully vaccinated, including those not yet eligible for vaccination. Click here for more information and the full report.
An estimated 53% of eligible residents are now vaccinated, with 487,839 Montanans now considered fully vaccinated. If you want to get vaccinated, contact your county health department, or click here.
Counties with the most new cases
- Yellowstone County: 236 new; 2,840 active
- Cascade County: 130 new; 1,260 active
- Missoula County: 125 new; 1,808 active
- Gallatin County: 107 new; 625 active
- Flathead County: 105 new; 1,160 active
- Lewis & Clark County: 85 new; 588 active
- Silver Bow County: 67 new; 247 active
- Lake County: 45 new; 276 active
- Lincoln County: 41 new; 330 active
There have been 151,033 cumulative cases of COVID in Montana. The cumulative number of recoveries is now 137,261. An additional 7,772 COVID tests have been administered.
The information above is from the DPHHS website and is current as of Thursday, September 30, 2021. The state website has county-specific data on vaccination rates, new/total cases, and more.
Last week, at the request of the following hospitals, Governor Greg Gianforte announced he is sending Montana National Guard troops to help with their COVID response:
- St. Peter’s Health in Helena: 10 Guard
- Billings Clinic in Billings 20: Guard
- St. James Healthcare in Butte: 6 Guard
- St. Vincent Healthcare in Billings: 10 Guard
- Missoula County: 24 Guard
- Bozeman Health in Bozeman: 10 Guard
- Benefis Health System in Great Falls: 20 Guard
- Livingston HealthCare in Livingston: 6 Guard
- Logan Health in Kalispell: 25 Guard
- Logan Health in Whitefish: 2 Guard
- Clark Fork Valley Hospital in Plains: 4 Guard
The Guard members will support staffing with non-medical ICU assistance, environmental services, patient data entry, and COVID testing, according to the governor's office.
Montana is not the only state deploying National Guard troops to help hospitals - other states include Idaho, Wyoming, Oregon, Kentucky, and Tennessee.