GREAT FALLS — Cascade County Sheriff Jesse Slaughter said on Sunday that there are 37 new COVID-19 cases at the detention center.
Slaughter said in a news release that there are now 60 active cases among inmates, and 70 inmates that have recovered. One detention officer is currently positive, and there ten officers are now listed as recovered.
Slaughter also said they now have the first positive cases on the state prison side of the jail; he noted that this may result in another spike in cases in the coming days. He added that the quarantine pod is working well, and is helping reduce the spread of infection on the county side of the jail.
Several days ago, Slaughter said that inmates have responded in a variety of ways to the virus - with many displaying no symptoms, some mild symptoms, and a few with more severe symptoms.
He praised medical staff for their efforts, saying their work "has been tremendous and...working long hours through this outbreak. I’m very proud of them and our detention officers, during this stressful time." The current inmate population is 400, according to Slaughter.
There were 96 new cases and two new deaths added to the total on the Montana Response COVID-19 tracking site on Sunday morning. The data below is from the official Montana website on September 13:
- TOTAL CASES & RECOVERIES: Montana now reports 9,021 cumulative cases statewide, with 6,830 people recovered.
- HOSPITALIZATIONS: There are 145 patients hospitalized, and a total of 525 hospitalizations since the pandemic began.
- ACTIVE CASES: The state reports there are currently 2,056 active cases in Montana.
- DEATHS: The cumulative number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 in Montana is 135, an increase of two since yesterday.
- TESTING: The number of new tests is 1,396; the cumulative total of tests since March is now 280,124.
Cascade County has reported a cumulative total of 444 cases as of Sunday, an increase of six since yesterday. Of those, 253 are listed as recovered, 186 are currently listed as active, and five people have died.
The federal Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) released data in late August which emphasizes that people with contributing or underlying medical conditions are at much greater risk of dying from COVID-19. According to the CDC, an estimated 94% of all COVID-related deaths in the nation were people who had contributing medical conditions and diseases.
The CDC report states: "For 6% of the deaths, COVID-19 was the only cause mentioned. For deaths with conditions or causes in addition to COVID-19, on average, there were 2.6 additional conditions or causes per death." The report states that the most common underlying medical conditions that contributed to COVID-related deaths include respiratory diseases such as pneumonia, asthma, COPD, and influenza; diabetes; hyptertensive diseases; and heart disease. Click here to read the complete report on the CDC website.