Beaverhead County Public Health Issues Clarification on Case Counts

Beaverhead County Public Health would like to clear up some confusion on the case counts in Beaverhead County. Currently the total case count in Beaverhead County is 6. A previously counted case has been attributed to another county out of state based on the patient’s residence. Currently there are 5 active cases in Beaverhead County.

Yesterday Governor Bullock announced a requirement for individuals to wear masks in public in counties that have four or more active cases. At this time this requirement applies to Beaverhead County residents ages five and older (with some exceptions listed in the order). The order can be viewed in entirety at https://beaverheadcounty.org/departments/beaverhead-county-covid-19-response/ or on the State of Montana’s website.

Beaverhead County Public Health Director, Sue Hansen, reminds Beaverhead County residents to be cautious and remain vigilant as cases in Montana continue to dramatically increase. Social distancing, wearing face coverings, washing hands, and remaining home when sick are 4 of the very simple and proven ways we can reduce the transmission of this disease. Large gatherings such as weddings and crowed bars where social distancing is not being followed have been linked to recent cases in Montana.

The previously planned asymptomatic testing that was planned for July 24th has been postponed indefinitely. As Governor Bullock discussed yesterday the lab contracted with the state to perform such wide testing, Quest Diagnostics is no longer able to keep up with the demands of asymptomatic testing and has announced they will only be conducting testing on symptomatic test kits. We do not know when or if we’ll be able to offer asymptomatic testing in the future.

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