COVID-19 virus update, 4.16.20

A total of 218 of the total 415 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Montana have recovered from the virus as of the morning of Thursday, April 16, and a total of 9,936 tests have been administered statewide.

The county with the most COVID-19 virus confirmed cases continues to be Gallatin where 141 (or nearly 34-percent) of the Montana cases are located. Yellowstone County has the second most cases with 67, followed by Flathead County with 37, Missoula County with 33, and Toole County with 26, according to "MONTANA RESPONSE: COVID-19 - Coronavirus - Global, National, and State Information Resources" (https://arcg.is/L95qb)

Of Montana's 56 counties, 27 counties have no confirmed cases of the COVID-19 virus, and of the 29 that do, seven counties have one confirmed case (a total of 18 counties have eight or fewer confirmed cases.)

The total deaths attributed to the COVID-19 virus in Montana remains at seven following the death of a person over 65 years of age in Flathead County who had underlying health conditions, according to the Flathead City-County Health Department.

There are currently no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Phillips County nor any county that boarders Phillips (Blaine, Fergus, Petroleum, Garfield, or Valley.)

On Tuesday, Montana Governor Steve Bullock released a report analyzing COVID-19 cases in Montana. (https://dphhs.mt.gov/Portals/85/publichealth/documents/CDEpi/DiseasesAtoZ/2019-nCoV/MT_COVIDSummary.pdf).

"The report released today sheds light on how this virus is impacting Montanans and provides data we can use to examine what's working to slow the spread and what our next steps should be," Gov. Bullock said on Tuesday. "I want to thank the public health officials who diligently track and report this information to help us understand this new virus and do everything we can to protect Montanans."

The report released today sheds light on how this virus is impacting Montanans and provides data we can use to examine what's working to slow the spread and what our next steps should be. I want to thank the public health officials who diligently track and report this information to help us understand this new virus and do everything we can to protect Montanans."

On April 7, Gov. Bullock extended the stay at home directives he issued through April 24 ahead (the latest directive was set to expire on April 10.)

"We know that staying home will help to flatten the curve. For every person we take out of the chain of transmission of this virus, the more likely our health care facilities can handle the capacity to respond, and the more likely we can beat back this virus sooner rather than later," Gov. Bullock said. "We stay at home to ensure that our health care workers and first responders have adequate time to receive the supplies to keep them, their patients, and their families safe. We stay home to protect Montanans in our rural communities and our rural health care workers who face long distances to access care."

"We also stay home so that we can more quickly rebuild to a thriving economy. It is not a choice between a healthy population and a healthy economy -- the two go hand in hand. Managing this public health crisis now will help to prevent long-term consequences that could upend our economy for a longer duration and with a worse outcome," he said.

The extension covers the stay at home order, school closures, on-premises dining and beverage operations, eviction and foreclosure suspensions and the mandatory 14-day self-quarantine for travelers coming into Montana for non-work-related travel.

Closing all non-residential public schools in Montana. Previous Directive issued March 15 and previously extended through April 10.

Closing certain on-premises dining and beverage businesses while expanding and encouraging delivery, takeout, and drive-up options. Previous Directive issued March 24.

Extending the stay at home Directive except for certain essential activities, temporarily closing non-essential businesses, provided social distancing requirements, and limited non-essential travel. Previous Directive issued March 26.

Limiting evictions, foreclosures, and disconnections for the duration of the Stay at Home Directive. Previous Directive issued March 30.

Requiring a 14-day self-quarantine for individuals arriving in Montana for non-work-related travel. Previous Directive issued March 30, which followed Governor Bullock's travel advisory on March 19th.