GREAT FALLS — As of Friday morning (April 17), there have been a total of 422 confirmed cases of COVID-19 (coronavirus) in Montana, an increase of seven since Thursday.
- There have been eight deaths to date. There have been four deaths in Toole County, and one each in Lincoln County, Madison County, Missoula County, and Flathead County.
- There have now been 54 hospitalizations to date of COVID-19 patients in Montana; 21 of those are considered "active (current) hospitalizations."
- There have been a total of 233 recovered patients to date. The number of recoveries by county has not been released at this point.
- The DPHHS public health lab has completed 10,244 tests for COVID-19, including 308 tests since Thursday's update.
Friday's update from DPHHS shows three new cases and one new death in Toole County since Thursday morning's update. The three new cases are a woman in her 40s, a man in his 50s, and a woman in her 80s. The Toole County Health Department said in a news release on Thursday afternoon: "It is with deeply saddened and heavy hearts that we report an additional death in our community due to COVID-19. Our condolences continue to be with all families that have been affected by COVID-19." No further information about the person who died has been publicly released.
Toole County has been hit hard by COVID-19, with 29 confirmed cases among a population of about 4,900; Shelby, the county seat, has about 3,200 people.
All Toole County cases continue to consist of close contact, healthcare-related transmission. Marias Medical Center in Shelby said on March 26 that one of the residents of the Marias Heritage Center tested positive for COVID-19. Marias Heritage Center is a 38-apartment, state-licensed facility in Shelby. The next day, they said that some of the positive COVID-19 tests are from Marias Heritage Center employees. They also said: "This situation also exposed others to COVID-19 and, as such, we expect there could be other positives."
Governor Steve Bullock has scheduled a news conference at 2:00 pm on Friday to provide an update on Montana's response to COVID-19.
Click here to see the current total of confirmed cases by county.
Counties with new confirmed cases since Thursday:
- Toole County: 29 Total Cases | 3 New Cases
- Roosevelt County: 6 Total Cases | 2 New Cases
- Gallatin County: 142 Total Cases | 1 New Cases
- Missoula County: 34 Total Cases | 1 New Cases
CONTINUING COVERAGE:
COVID-19 in Montana (Thursday, April 16)
Report: "Interim Analysis of COVID-19 cases in Montana"
Legislative leaders ask Bullock to reconsider some restrictions
Determining how many people have recovered
IRS deposits first wave of stimulus checks into bank accounts
COVID-19 update for Cascade County (Saturday, April 11)
Great Falls Job Service provides update on unemployment assistance
OPI recommends closing for remainder of school year
COVID-19: Q&A with a Great Falls physician
Toole County provides update on COVID-19 (Thursday, April 9)
Officials highlight recoveries of two COVID-19 patients in Montana