Coronavirus cases rise to 227 in Montana
MISSOULA, Mont. — Montana state health officials report 227 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of Thursday morning.
That's an increase from 217 reported cases from Wednesday afternoon.
State officials report that five have died from the virus in the state.
Nineteen people have been hospitalized and four people have died in Montana from the virus as of Wednesday afternoon.
New cases from Wednesday are as follows:
- Missoula: M30-39
- Cascade: M60-69
- Gallatin: M30-39
- Gallatin: F60-69
- Gallatin: F80-89
- Gallatin: M50-59
- Gallatin: M60-69
- GallatinF40-49
- Yellowstone: M40-49
- Yellowstone: F60-69
- Total COVID Cases in Montana: 227
- Total number of tests completed since last report: 232
- Total Number of Tests: 5088
Click here to read the latest updates from the state.
Thursday marks six days into Governor Bullock's 14-day stay-at-home order.
The directive from Gov. Steve Bullock aimed at fighting the pandemic's spread.
People are allowed to leave home for necessities such as food or medical care, along with other exceptions.
Current closure orders and social distancing requirements:
On Thursday, March 26, Governor Bullock issued a Stay At Home Directive, effective at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, March 28, through April 10.
Per the governor’s directive, Montanans are required to stay at home or at their place of residence to the greatest extent possible.
Nonessential social and recreational gatherings of individuals outside of a home or place of residence are prohibited, regardless of size, if a distance of at least six feet between individuals cannot be maintained.
All persons may leave their homes or place of residence only for essential activities or to operate essential businesses or operations as defined in the directive.
Individuals whose residences are unsafe or become unsafe, such as victims of domestic violence, are permitted and urged to leave their home and stay at a safe alternative location.
The governor’s order closes all non-essential businesses and operations through April 10.
Travel should be limited to essential travel and travel for essential activities.
Essential activities include leaving home for health and safety, obtaining necessary supplies and services, outdoor activity, certain types of work, and taking care of others.
The essential businesses list can be found in the directive. Businesses with questions can contact a dedicated state line at 1-800-755-6672. They should not call the Health Department.
The governor’s directive includes the following social distancing requirements for essential businesses and operations:
Designate six-foot distances. Designating with signage, tape or by other means six-foot spacing for employees and customers in line to maintain appropriate distance.
Hand sanitizer and sanitizing products. Having hand sanitizer and sanitizing products readily available for employees and customers.
Separate operating hours for vulnerable populations. Implementing separate operating hours for elderly and vulnerable customers.
Online and remote access. Posting online whether a facility is open and how best to reach the facility and continue services by phone or remotely.
Missoula County Public Schools meals:
Meals for youth - open to ANY youth under 18 (even private school or homeschool students, or students from other school districts)
This information will also be on posters on the front entrance of every school.
During this school closure period, our school lunch and breakfast program is open to all youth for FREE. There is no limitation related to income status nor previous qualification for free/reduced lunch. Any youth can receive free meals, regardless of status.
The following school sites will be open from 10:00 -1:00 Monday - Friday to pick up meals:
- Chief Charlo
- Franklin
- Lowell
- Russell
Meals can be picked up at any time during this three hour window. Each bag will include both breakfast and lunch.
Meals will also be delivered on all elementary school bus routes between 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. We are using the ‘PK5 bus routes because there are more stops, in more neighborhoods. However any youth under 18 will be able to grab a lunch at the stop, regardless of grade level.
Please send only one person from each family (this can be an adult) to pick up the meals at a pick up site or a bus stop for youth under 18 in your household. When picking up meals at a school site or a bus stop, please maintain a 6 foot distance from others waiting in line for meals.
Infofinder routes have been revised so that parents will see the exact time between 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. when the bus will arrive at their stop. We will also be posting the bus stop information on the front entrance of every elementary school. When searching for a bus stop, parents need to put in their address and then use the drop down menu to select the appropriate elementary school closest to their home.
The timing may flex by 10-15 minutes from the posted schedule as we get the system up and running.
Food Allergies: Parents or guardians, please examine the food for those students who have food allergies. We will identify lunches that have peanuts, but we recognize that there are other food allergies. If your student has known food allergies, please check over the food that has been delivered for any potential problems. If you have questions about how the food was prepared or specific ingredients, please contact our food service department at 728-2400 ext. 3023 or 5012 or slrossmiller@mcps.k12.mt.us
Bus Routes in Missoula County
High school bus routes will cover the following areas in Missoula County:
Bus 225 - Rock Creek, Clinton, Turah, along Highway 200 and Potomac
11:15 AM: Rock Creek Mercantile
11:25 AM: Clinton Market
11:35 AM: The Other Place – Turah Exit
11:40 AM: Highway 10 E @ The Piltzville Fire Station
11:50 AM: Highway 200 E @ Angevine Park
12:00 PM: Highway 200 E @ The Potomac Store
12:10 PM: Highway 200 E & Twin Creek Rd
Bus 233 - Elmar Estates, Mullan Road, Lolo, and Blue Moutain Trailer Court
11:00 AM: Mourning Dove Dr & Sage Hen CT (Mourning Dove Park)
11:05 AM: Mullan Road @ Hellgate Trading Post
11:25 AM: Lolo Exxon Town Pump
11:32 AM: Lolo Creek Rd & Traveler’s Rest Country Store
11:37 AM: Lolo Creed Rd @ Highway 93 Conoco Station
11:40 AM: Highway 93 @ Town Pump/Post Office
11:45 AM: Highway 93 S @ Blue Mountain Trailer park
Target Range Route - Mondays and Wednesdays ONLY
Target Range School: 8:50 AM Load/9:00 AM Depart
Union Square: 9:05 AM (Distribute lunches at Gate on Old Fort Rd.)
O'Brian Creek: 9:20 AM (Distribute lunches at Triple Creek Rd.)
Big Flat: 9:20 AM – 9:30 AM (Students waiting on Big Flat Rd. will receive lunches within this 10 minute time frame)
Wagon Wheel : 9:35 AM (Distribute lunches at entrance of Wagon Wheel, bus will spend 5-10 minutes at this stop to distribute lunches)
DeSmet School Lunch Drop Schedule:
11:00 AM: Bus arrives at DeSmet School to load lunches and pick up helpers.
11:15 AM: Depart DeSmet School
11:20 AM: Arrive Training Drive
11:30 AM: Depart Training Drive (Students will have 10 minutes to pick up lunches.)
11:37 AM: Arrive Marvin’s (Bus will depart at 11:40 AM)
11:50 AM: Arrive Red Fern Park
12:00 PM: Depart Red Fern Park (Students will have 10 minutes to pick up lunches.)
12:05 PM: Arrive Upper Gooden/Keil
12:10 PM: Arrive Lower Gooden/Keil
12:13 PM: Arrive McCarther Lane
Bus will service Butler Creek students between 12:14 PM and 12:20 PM. Students would need to be waiting at their regular bus stop between these times.
12:20 PM: Arrive LaFamille (Turn Around)
Click here for the latest Missoula County Public School coronavirus information.
Missoula City-County:
County staff considered essential will alternate work schedules and continue working remotely as much as possible to minimize contact and adhere to physical distancing directives. Essential county staff who will continue to report to work in person include incident response, law enforcement, 9-1-1 dispatchers, court staff, public health, public works, technology, financial services, commissioners and commissioners’ support, and communications. Other staff will still be available to answer questions and serve the public remotely via telephone and email and will conduct business using online resources and the U.S. Postal Service as much as possible throughout the closure.
Check Missoula County department webpages for more information specific to their operations and changes to services. You can also call Missoula County at 721-5700 to connect with any department and learn more about adjustments to their operations.
Missoula County continues to contract with vendors to provide services for public activities such as elections, utility maintenance and construction and encouragesthem to follow all CDC and local guidelines to ensure physical distancing.
Per Gov. Bullock’s Stay-at-home directive March 26, the City of Missoula is continuing to perform essential services, such as law enforcement, emergency response, wastewater treatment and Missoula Water. The City will deliver services in keeping with CDC guidelines on social distancing to protect the health of the public and City employees. Many employees are working remotely. Please use the City website at https://www.ci.missoula.mt.us to contact City departments and see individual department webpages for specific direction.
Along with many first responders and other essential employees providing services, Missoula County sheriff’s deputies are exempt from the governor’s directive, as are corrections personnel, emergency dispatchers and court personnel. Missoula County Sheriff’s Office is committed to serve and protect the residents of Missoula County and will continue to do so during this unprecedented time. Sheriff’s Office operations will continue as they have since the emergency resolution signed on March 18. Thank you for your support and cooperation as our community works together to flatten the curve and stop the spread.
The governor’s directive exempts educational institutions, and specifically the Montana University System, as it is critical that we maintain the necessary staff on hand to support our residential students, critical research, remote learning and other key activities. Most faculty and staff are working from home and we continue everything possible to reduce even further the number of employees who must physically come to our campus to work. We are practicing strict physical distancing guidelines and cleaning and sanitation protocols for those who must come to campus to work.
