The Rebound: Montana (Sunday May 3)

You can now get a weekly look at The Rebound Montana every Sunday at 6:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. on the Montana Television Network.

MTN News shows you how communities and people across our state are working to relieve, respond, and revive from the COVID-19 crisis.

Watch the full show below:

SCHOOLS: The Great Falls Public Schools Board of Trustees announced on 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.

RESTAURANTS: Many restaurant owners are busy preparing to reopen in limited capacities beginning on Monday, now that the first phase of the "Reopening The Big Sky" plan is underway. Click here to read more.

TESTING: Governor Steve Bullock on Wednesday outlined a framework to ramp up COVID-19 testing capacity in Montana over the next several months with a goal to eventually conduct 60,000 tests per month and prioritize testing for vulnerable people in nursing homes and assisted living facilities, tribal communities, and those with COVID-19 symptoms. Click here for details. Alluvion Health will open a drive-through testing clinic in Great Falls on Monday; click here for more information.

PHASED RE-OPENING: Governor Steve Bullock announced last Wednesday a three-phase plan to "re-open" Montana, as closures and restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19 will be gradually rescinded. Among the highlights of the plan:

• The "stay at home order" expired on Sunday, April 26, for individuals and Monday, April 27, for businesses. Retail businesses can become operational beginning on April 27 if they can adhere to requirements to limit capacity and maintain strict physical distancing.
• Restaurants, bars, breweries, and distilleries can begin providing some in-establishment services beginning May 4. Click here for more details.
• Businesses where groups gather without the ability to social distance including movie theaters, gyms, and other places of assembly remain closed.

The above is just a brief summary of key points; click here for more details of the "Re-opening The Big Sky" plan.

NUMBERS: As of Saturday morning (May 2), there have been a total of 455 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Montana, according to the Montana Department of Public Health & Human Services. The following data is from DPHHS:

• There have been a total of 404 recovered patients to date. The number of recoveries by county has not been released at this point.
• There are currently 35 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 61 hospitalizations to date of COVID-19 patients in Montana; 5 of those are "active (current) hospitalizations."
• The DPHHS public health lab has completed 14,635 tests for COVID-19, including 432 tests since Friday's update.
• Click here to see the current total of confirmed and active cases by county