Governor Gianforte Says Stay Tuned For Mask Mandate Repeal

Roosevelt County Reports 14 Active Cases

During a press conference at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 6, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte revised the vaccination plan and stated he wanted to move from directives to incentives.

Gianforte said at the press conference that no changes will be made to mask mandate restrictions at present, despite signals that a repeal is in the works.

He said he will be willing to repeal the mask mandate when vaccines are distributed to the vulnerable and relevant legislation crosses his desk involving incentives, rather than restrictions, for business owners.

He said the guiding principals for moving forward will include protecting the vulnerable and creating incentives for business owners and other organizations.

Gianforte said he would not oppose local authorities in their respective efforts to apply and enforce COVID-19 related rules and restrictions.

Montana is currently ranked eighth in the nation for distribution of the vaccines. Montana has received 36,000 first doses of COVID-19 vaccines and additional 41,000 first doses are expected. The governor also noted that 23,000 Montanans have received a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as of Monday, Jan. 4.

Gianforte said he hopes to continue with vulnerable populations over the coming weeks.

He told reporters to stay tuned for more news about efforts to repeal restrictions. He said the timeline for repeal would be a matter of “weeks not months.”

Regarding the safety of the available vaccines, Gianforte said, “I’m confident that we have a safe and effective vaccine.”

Gianforte moved away from Centers for Disease Control guidelines regarding eligibility for early rounds of the vaccine. He has abandoned 1A, 1B and 1C categories in lieu of prioritizing vaccinations for those who are most vulnerable, including residents over the age of 70 and those ages 16-69 with underlying health conditions. This information was released at press time, after page 42 in this week’s issue was completed.

Vaccination plans for Montana are being revised by the Montana Department of Health and Human Services and will take effect immediately.

“I’ll be clear,” said Gianforte, “we are not out of the woods yet.”

Area Statistics

As of Monday, Jan. 4, Roosevelt County has 14 active cases. There have been 51 total COVID-related deaths in the county.

In McCone County, there is one active case. There have been 144 confirmed cases and 143 are listed as recovered.

As of Monday, Jan. 4, Valley County’s active count was seven. Valley County reported seven deaths due to COVID-19 and/or complications.

Daniels County had two active cases as of Tuesday, Jan. 5. The county has 133 recovered cases and 140 cumulative cases. Five deaths have occurred due to COVID-19 and/or complications. There are no cases currently hospitalized.

The Phillips County Health Department was reporting 19 active cases as of Monday, Jan. 4. Four hundred and seven cases are listed as recovered. There is one active hospitalization. There have been 12 deaths.

For Richland County, there are 19 active cases and 1,005 recovered cases as of Monday, Jan. 4. Total deaths are 13. There are more than 50 plus contacts being monitored.

Statewide

According to Montana health officials, a total of 810,880 tests have been conducted statewide since the start of the pandemic.

The state’s total number of known cases now stands at 82,664 since the start of the pandemic.

Around the state, there are 5,056 active cases. There’s been a total of 3,650 hospitalizations with 191 active hospitalizations.

By Tuesday, Jan. 5, 975 deaths have been reported statewide. A total of 76,633 people are listed as recovered.

Outgoing Governor Steve Bullock’s directive requires face masking in any indoor space, open to the public, is mandatory for people ages 5 years and older. For children 2-4 years of age, face coverings are strongly encouraged. A drape may be used for babies. Restaurants, bars, breweries, distilleries and casinos are limited to 50 percent capacity and must close by 10 p.m. Public gatherings where social distancing isn’t possible or practiced will be limited to 25 people.

County sheriffs and other law enforcement across the state have said that the mask mandate is not enforceable and violations should not be called into 911.

Flu Shots

Area health officials are stressing that flu shots are more important this year than ever because the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to keep the community safe, health officials offer advice and information on these two infections are related.

COVID-19 and the flu are each highly contagious respiratory infections, but have some key differences. They are caused by different viruses. COVID-19 is more infectious, and there is a vaccine to prevent the flu. There are some symptom similarities between the two, which may make it difficult to determine which illness you have if you are experiencing symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, difficulty breathing, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, vomiting and diarrhea. Flu can be a more mild illness than COVID-19, and COVID-19 symptoms also can include loss of taste or smell. It may be necessary to receive testing to determine which illness you are experiencing.

To get a flu shot, make an appointment with the Roosevelt County Health Department or make an appointment with your primary care provider.

Flu shots are available at the following locations: Roosevelt County Health Department, Chief Redstone IHS Clinic in Wolf Point, Verne E. Gibbs IHS Clinic in Poplar, Listerud Rural Health Clinic in Wolf Point, Riverside Clinic in Poplar and Roosevelt Medical Clinic in Culbertson.

Vaccines are covered by health insurance, Medicaid and Medicare. If you don’t have health insurance, call the health department for assistance at 653-6223.

Fort Peck Tribes

The Fort Peck Tribes moved to Phase 1 Tuesday, Sept. 29. Phase 1 puts non-essential employees and residents on the reservation under stay at home orders and limits gatherings to 10 people or fewer. All households are being asked to maintain 6 feet distance, wear masks and sanitize.

Roosevelt Medical Center

Roosevelt Medical Center posted the following information via social media: “In-person visitations are not being scheduled this week due to the Roosevelt County positivity rate exceeding 10 percent.”