Cascade County reports 3rd COVID-19 death Thursday, Big Horn County has 3

Cascade County reported its third death related to COVID-19 on Thursday, with officials saying it was a man over 65 with underlying health conditions.

“I am saddened at the death of this man, and I mourn with his family and loved ones as they face this loss,” Trisha Gardner, Cascade County health officer said in a news release. “We know that COVID-19 is particularly dangerous to older adults."

Big Horn County said Thursday three more of its residents have died due to COVID-19, making for a total of 14 fatalities related to the respiratory illness.

The latest numbers from the two counties bring the number of deaths in Montana due to COVID-19 to 69.

Officials said one of the Big Horn County deaths was a woman in her 40s, one was a man in his 60s, and one was a man in his 70s. All three had been hospitalized prior to their deaths.

County spokeswoman Rhonda S. Johnson said the county, which has a population of 13,000, added an additional 18 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday and Wednesday and is "approaching 400 total cases, which will be 3% of our population."

She said the active cases, at 240, is 1.8% of the county’s population.

There have been 4,429 confirmed reports of COVID-19 in the state since March 11.

The state reported 173 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing Montana’s total to 4,602. Of those, 2,964 have recovered, 1,573 are active, 87 people are still hospitalized out of 259 hospitalizations.

Some area counties had gains: Toole had four, Glacier reported three and Cascade had two.

The Cascade County cases were men in their 20s and 30s. The Glacier cases were a man in his 30s and two men in their 60s and the Toole County cases involved a woman in her 20s, a man in his 40s and two men in their 70s.

The earlier two deaths in Cascade County both occurred in April. They involved a man and a woman over 65. 

Yellowstone County had 47 new cases, bringing its total of reports to 1,191. Missoula County had 31, Flathead County had 26, Gallatin had 21, Big Horn had 19, Lake County reported five and Lewis and Clark and Toole counties reported four each.

Glacier County had three, Cascade and Stillwater counties had two and one each was reported in Beaverhead, Fergus, Madison, McCone, Musselshell, Park, Roosevelt, Rosebud and Valley counties.

Carter, Mineral and Petroleum remain the last of Montana's 56 counties that have not reported a confirmed case of coronavirus.

Gov. Steve Bullock issued a directive giving counties the option of holding voting by mail in the November general election, adding it was unlikely the pandemic will have abated by then.

He said he was in agreement with election administrators, that the right to vote must be protected along with protecting public health.  

Bullock said during a news conference Thursday that the increase of COVID-19 numbers in July has brought concerns about the rise of cases and deaths in Montana.

He said in his discussions with county health officials he has heard it is not new restrictions which is a barrier.

"... it's about getting people to follow the rules already in place," Bullock said.

“We need to contain this virus now," he said later in the news conference. "We need Montanans to step up and be vigilant."

Bullock also said he will direct up to $20 million to the Montana University System to help its COVID-19 efforts for testing students in the fall semester. 

“The ability of our Montana students to continue their education on campus this fall is critical to our state’s future, we also to ensure that we are doing so safely – and a comprehensive testing strategy is a key part to making that possible,” he said. “This funding will enable campuses to carry out testing and response protocols that are targeted, rapid and effective.”

Montana University System Commissioner Clayton Christian talked about testing priorities.

He said they will concentrate on keeping individual cases from turning into clusters and from trying to keep clusters from turning into bigger outbreaks.

"We'll have a laser focus on addressing symptomatic individuals to rapid quarantine, rapid testing and isolation of individuals who test positive ..."  Christian said, adding the effort will mean more health service staff, technicians and help from public health partners.

Students will be asked to self-screen daily for symptoms, wear masks in classes and avoid large gatherings. The Montana University System enrolls more than 40,000 students across 16 public universities and colleges, according to their website.

Funding for the testing is from the state’s $1.25 billion allocation of federal relief dollars made available through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

The Associated Press contributed to this story. 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.