GREAT FALLS — Great Falls High School will be closed on Monday and Tuesday (September 14-15) after new cases of COVID-19 were reported.
GFPS said in an email that officials were notified on Sunday afternoon of the new cases.
A news release says that due to the timing of these new cases and the requirements for contact tracing, as well as time for adequate sanitation, Great Falls High School will be closed for the next 48 hours and students will move to temporary remote learning. GFPS says that, "This will allow for contact tracing and sanitation to occur to ensure the health and safety for our students and staff. School will resume at GFHS on Wednesday as normal."
Authorities have not yet released the number of new cases, nor said how many are students and/or staff. We will update you if we get more details.
There were 96 new cases and two new deaths added to the total on the Montana Response COVID-19 tracking site on Sunday morning. The data below is from the official Montana website on September 13:
- TOTAL CASES & RECOVERIES: Montana now reports 9,021 cumulative cases statewide, with 6,830 people recovered.
- HOSPITALIZATIONS: There are 145 patients hospitalized, and a total of 525 hospitalizations since the pandemic began.
- ACTIVE CASES: The state reports there are currently 2,056 active cases in Montana.
- DEATHS: The cumulative number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 in Montana is 135, an increase of two since yesterday.
- TESTING: The number of new tests is 1,396; the cumulative total of tests since March is now 280,124.
Cascade County has reported a cumulative total of 444 cases as of Sunday, an increase of six since yesterday. Of those, 253 are listed as recovered, 186 are currently listed as active, and five people have died.
Sheriff Jesse Slaughter said on Sunday that there are 37 new COVID-19 cases at the Cascade County detention center; click here for details.
Numbers reported by the state each day occasionally differ from those reported by county public health departments due to periodic lag times in reporting data to the state. We encourage people to check the official website and/or Facebook page of their respective county health department for any updates that are not yet included in the state's daily updates.
Governor Steve Bullock on Thursday announced a new set of protocols to help Montana schools know how to handle potential COVID-19 cases. The protocols cover what COVID-19 symptoms schools should check for, when someone needs to be isolated or quarantined, and when they should be allowed to return to school. They also include advice for holding sports and other extracurricular activities, and what information can be released if someone tests positive. Click here to read more.