GREAT FALLS — More residents at Benefis Health System's Eastview care center have tested positive for COVID-19. As of Tuesday, six residents had the virus and were being quarantined. All appeared to be doing well, according to Benefis Senior Services COO David Krebs.
As MTN has reported, the hospital announced over the weekend three residents had tested positive.
All of the residents had been tested as of Tuesday and were having their vital signs checked three times a day instead of two.
Seven staff members had also tested positive for COVID-19 as of Tuesday. Only two, Krebs said, were showing symptoms when they were tested.
As of Tuesday, staff members were being tested for the virus twice a week.
"We have taken every precaution the CDC and CMS has given us, their guidelines, plus more to try to keep our residents safe. When we had the first resident turn positive on Friday, it was gut-wrenching because we thought we had done everything possible,” Krebs said.
Benefis Eastview is located on Benefis East Campus.
MTN contacted the City-County Health Department to see if other senior care facilities had reported positive COVID-19 cases, but we have not yet received a response.
As of Tuesday morning, Cascade County has reported a cumulative total of 932 cases, an increase of 20 since yesterday. Of those, 435 are listed as recovered, and 491 are currently listed as active. Two deaths were reported on Sunday, bringing the total number of deaths in Cascade County to eight. During a news conference last week, representatives from hospitals around the state say they’re feeling the stress from the increase in COVID hospitalizations. Benefis Health System in Great Falls was listed at 115% capacity, with 37 patients hospitalized due to COVID complications, seven of whom are in the ICU. Click here to read more.
There were 504 new cases and two new deaths added to the total on the Montana COVID-19 tracking site on Tuesday morning. The data below is from the official Montana website on October 6:
- TOTAL CASES & RECOVERIES: Montana now reports 15,347 cumulative cases statewide, with 10,172 people recovered.
- HOSPITALIZATIONS: The state reports 216 current hospitalizations, and a cumulative total of 773 hospitalizations.
- ACTIVE CASES: The state reports there are currently 4,983 active COVID-19 cases in Montana.
- TESTING: The number of tests increased by 2,745 over the previous 24-hour reporting period, for a new cumulative state-wide total of 372,720.
- DEATHS: The cumulative number of deaths in Montana is at 192.
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 information that is not yet included in the state's daily updates.
- What constitutes a recovery? Click here for details
- Why are cases increasing? Click here for details
- CCHD addresses spike in COVID-19 cases
- Privacy laws and HIPAA: Click here for details
It's important to note that not every person who tests positive actually becomes ill or exhibits symptoms. Many do not; of those who do become sick, some experience mild symptoms and do not require hospitalization. Others, however, do require hospitalization, as noted in the daily update on the number of people hospitalized. However, every person who does test positive for COVID-19 has the potential to spread the virus to other people, including family members and friends, which is why public health officials continue to encourage everyone to wear a mask and maintain a recommended six feet of "social distance" when in public.