GREAT FALLS — The Dollar Tree store on the northwest side of Great Falls has temporarily closed for sanitizing.
A sign on the door states: "We are currently undergoing sanitizing procedures, following Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines, aimed to prevent the potential spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19). We are working to open our store as soon as possible."
KRTV has received several messages stating that an employee of the store was notified by its corporate parent that people who were in the store "...on March 19th between 9 am and 11:40 am may have been exposed."
At this time, there is no confirmation from Cascade County public health officials about the validity of the claim.
We will update you if we get more information.
As of Thursday morning (March 26), there are 71 cases of COVID-19 (coronavirus) in Montana, an increase of 18 since Wednesday morning. The new total includes cases reported on Wednesday in the following counties: Hill, Glacier, Lincoln, and Cascade.
Here is the current total by county: Gallatin 24; Yellowstone 13; Missoula 6; Flathead 5; Cascade 5; Butte-Silver Bow 4; Lewis & Clark 4; Madison 2; Broadwater 2; Ravalli 1; Roosevelt 1; Jefferson 1; Hill 1; Glacier 1; Lincoln 1.
Public health officials have talked with all of the COVID-19 patients to determine their travel history and possible physical contacts, and are working to communicate with anyone that these patients have had direct contact with since their exposure.
On Thursday, the Toole County Public Health Department said that it confirmed a case of COVID-19 in a Toole County resident. The agency said: "The individual is hospitalized, in another county, and all appropriate precautions are in place to maintain the safety of the patient and the staff." We contacted the agency to find out if the Toole County resident is the patient identified in Glacier County on Wednesday; Glacier County health officials noted their case was an out-of-county resident. The TCPHD declined to confirm or deny the question, citing patient privacy laws.
The TCPHD also said they are working with all parties involved to complete a detailed interview to find out more about the case, and that anyone identified as a direct contact with the patient in recent days will be called by the Health Department for more information and how to proceed.
There has been one hospitalization of a COVID-19 patient in Montana, according to the state Coronavirus Task Force. There have not been any deaths in Montana attributed to COVID-19 at this point.
Officials in Montana are keeping a list of confirmed cases in the Treasure State on an updated map and website - click here to visit the site.
As of Wednesday morning, the DPHHS public health lab in Helena has completed 2,193 tests for COVID-19; that includes 112 tests conducted since Tuesday morning.
