Montana has 147 coronavirus cases as of Saturday

Phil Drake
Great Falls Tribune

HELENA — There were 147 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Montana as of 4:30 p.m. Saturday, just hours after a stay-at-home directive issued by the governor went into effect.

There were 7 cases in Cascade County, 5 in Toole County and 1 in Hill County, according to the covid19.mt.gov website. Gallatin County had the most cases with 57, Yellowstone County had the second-highest with 26.

Marias Medical Center in Shelby posted a notice on its Facebook page that county health officials notified them and the Marias Heritage Center that heritage center employees were included among those who tested positive.

"This situation also exposed others to COVID-19, and as such, we expect there could be other positives," officials wrote.

The state has 147 COVID-19 cases as of Saturday.

The heritage center is a 38-apartment unit retirement facility. They declined to comment Saturday. 

The state noted that 8 cases in Montana required hospitalization and added that generally the patients was tested after they were admitted to the hospital. One death was reported Thursday night.

Jim Tomlin was 77 when he died Thursday in a hospital in Kalispell, minutes after last rites were given to him over the phone, the Associated Press reported. His son, G. Scott Tomlin, said that his father, a high school biology teacher from Washington state who had retired about a decade ago to a lakeside home near the Cabinet Mountains, would have wanted people to take to heart the warnings to stay home to avoid the spread of the coronavirus.

The virus has surfaced in 18 of Montana's 56 counties including 57 in Gallatin County, 26 in Yellowstone County; 10 in Lewis and Clark, 9 in Missoula County, 8 in Silver Bow, 7 in Cascade County, 6 in Flathead, 5 in Toole and Madison, 3 in Broadwater and Lincoln counties, 2 in Jefferson, Lake and Park, 1 each in Hill, Meagher, Ravalli and Roosevelt counties. There have been 3,629 tests completed as of 4:30 p.m. Saturday.

The Cascade County cases involve two women in their 20s, two men in their 50s, two women in their 50s and one man in his 30s. The Toole County cases involve a female 10-19 years old, and one case each of women in the 40s, 60s, 70s and 80s, according to the state.

On Thursday the governor issued a stay-at-home directive, keeping residents indoors with limited travel allowed for essential trips such as picking up groceries or seeking medical care. There are about 1 million residents in Montana.

The order went into effect 12:01 a.m. Saturday and runs through April 10. Cascade County Attorney Josh Racki asked the public Friday to comply.

The order does not mean a person will be arrested or cited for simply leaving one’s home or traveling through town.

“Travel within Great Falls and Cascade County is not restricted,” Racki said. “Law enforcement officers are not stopping community members simply to have (a person) justify their travel. Officers, deputies and (Montana Highway Patrol) troopers, however, will be continuing to pursue active police patrols, respond to calls for assistance and make traffic stops when appropriate.”

Essential businesses that can remain open include stores that sell groceries and medicine, food and beverage production, organizations that provide charitable and social services, media, gas stations, financial and real estate services, hardware and supply stores, mail and shipping, laundry services and restaurants for consumption off premise.

Others are transportation such as airlines and taxis, home-based care, residential facilities, shelters, professional services, labor unions, hotels and funeral services.

Businesses with questions can call at 1-800-755-6672 and leave messages 24-hours a day.

The city of Great Falls declared a state of emergency March 19 and the City-County Health Department banned in-dining at bars and restaurants, although takeout, drive-through and delivery still are allowed at area businesses. Bullock issued a statewide order March 20.

Bullock unveiled a coronavirus task force on March 3, saying the state is ready to deal with the problem and warning that cases would eventually end up in Montana.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Mike McGrath on Friday ordered all criminal and civil jury trials suspended until after April 10 to help prevent spread of the virus within the court system, the Associated Press reported. Citing Bullock's order, McGrath said many courts were “ill-equipped to comply with social distancing."

On Friday, Bullock announced measures to waive out-of-pocket copayments for low-income Montanans covered by Healthy Montana Kids, ensure residents covered by Medicaid won’t lose coverage for inability to pay premiums and allow immediate registration of out-of-state licensed providers in Montana to strengthen the state’s health care response to COVID-19.

“Access to quality health care is more crucial now than ever,” he said in an email. “Today’s actions protect affordable care for low-income Montanans and expand our ability to rapidly respond to COVID-19 by increasing the number of health care providers who can serve the immediate health care needs in our state.”

The Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) is waiving all copay requirements under the Healthy Montana Kids Plan for more than 21,000 children during the emergency period, effective immediately. The Medicaid and Healthy Montana Kids Programs cover more than 100,000 children in Montana, but co-payments for all other adults and children covered by these programs were eliminated by the 2019 Legislature.

The department will no longer suspend health coverage for lack of payment of Medicaid premiums, Bullock said in a news release. This will ensure families don’t experience a barrier to accessing care during the COVID-19 outbreak.

The actions also authorize the immediate registration of out-of-state licensed health care professionals in Montana. The Department of Labor & Industry will implement an interstate licensure registration for out-of-state health care providers, which will allow qualified providers to begin practicing in Montana immediately.

Licensed professionals from out of state can register in Montana to work for the duration of the governor’s emergency declaration. There is no fee and registration only requires DLI to verify licensure in another state.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted that as of Saturday there were 103,321 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United States and 1,668 deaths.

The vast majority of people recover from the respiratory illness. There is no vaccine.

People should stay home when sick, stay away from others who are ill, cover coughs and sneezes with tissue or elbow, wash hands often with soap and water or using hand sanitizer and disinfect surfaces often. The state has launched a phone line at 1-888-333-0461 and Montanans can also email questions to covid19info@mt.gov.