State reports 115 new virus cases Wednesday, Cascade County has 'outbreak'

The state listed 115 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, hours after Cascade County reported an “outbreak” of six incidents at a long-term living facility.

This brings the state total of confirmed cases to 4,429 and 65 deaths, which was one more fatality than was listed Tuesday. There have been 2,820 recoveries and 1,544 cases remain active. The state reports 79 people remain hospitalized out of 248 hospitalizations.

The state has administered 183,124 tests, which is 1,888 tests more than what was reported Tuesday.

The Cascade City-County Health Department said Tuesday evening it “has identified an outbreak of six total COVID-19 cases in connection with a long-term care facility in Cascade County." They said they would not release the names of the facility or further details at this time. Officials cited the 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which prevents patient information from being released.

County Health officer Trisha Gardner told her board at their meeting Wednesday that the long-term living facility can disclose its name name if it choses. But the county would not.

"We don't that," she said, adding these are "partners" the county needs to work closely with.

"When we start going down that road of releasing names and different things, that really breaks down trust with us and ultimately leads to a place where we no longer get the information we need to do a successful containment," Gardner said.

The health department said it is working with the facility to determine appropriate strategies for containing and preventing further spread of the respiratory illness. Officials noted the virus is known to be particularly dangerous to older adults and other vulnerable populations in long-term care settings. 

On Wednesday, Cascade County listed five new cases on the state website. It had 58 active cases, 99 reports in which people recovered and two deaths.

Gardner told the board on Wednesday 17% of the cases were related to travel, 26% were related to community spread, 30% were contacts and 17% associated with different clusters.

"A good portion of what we are seeing is those we are finding through contact tracing, which is encouraging to me," she said.

Phillips County reported its first incidents Wednesday, saying there were five confirmed reports. They included two men and two women in their 30s and a woman in her 20s. Carter, Mineral and Petroleum remain the last three of Montana’s 56 counties with zero COVID-19 cases. 

A man in his 60s died early Wednesday in a Yellowstone County hospital, officials said, adding it would be listed on the state map Thursday. It was not immediately clear where the Wednesday death occurred.

They include a man in his 30s, a woman in her 40s, two men in their 60s and a woman in her 80s.

Glacier County reported two new cases, a man in his 60s and a woman in her 50s. Toole County reported one new case, a man in his 70s. Glacier County has eight active cases, 51 recoveries and one death. Toole County has five active cases, 25 recoveries and six deaths.

Yellowstone County reported 25 new cases Wednesday, Big Horn and Gallatin counties had 13, Rosebud and Silver Bow each had eight and Beaverhead had seven.

Cascade, Custer, Granite and Phillips counties each had five, Flathead had four and Glacier, Lewis and Clark, Lincoln and Park counties each had two. Blaine, Deer Lodge, Fergus, Lake, Pondera, Richland, Sheridan, Sweet Grass and Toole counties each had one.

Gov. Steve Bullock issued a directive July 15, making masks mandatory in certain indoor spaces and at some outdoor activities in Montana counties with four or more active cases, effective immediately.

Cascade County was recently listed by Bullock as one of the state’s nine COVID-19 “hot spots” because of the number of incidents.

He said the counties had 50 cases or more and comprise 80% of all cases reported in Montana during June and July. The other "hot spot" counties are Big Horn, Flathead, Gallatin, Lake, Lewis and Clark, Madison, Missoula and Yellowstone. 

On Tuesday, he and the Montana Department of Agriculture said more than $7.5 million in grant funding has been awarded through the Montana Meat Processing Infrastructure Grant programs. The grants aid small and medium-sized meat processors in responding to the COVID-19 crisis through improvements to meat processing infrastructure and capacity in Montana.

Reporter Phil Drake is our eye on the state capitol. For tips, suggestions or comment, he can be reached at 406-231-9021 or pdrake@greatfallstribune.com.