Lake County finds first COVID-19 case
Hey savvy news reader! Thanks for choosing local.
You are now reading
1 of 3 free articles.
By Karen Peterson / Valley Journal
LAKE COUNTY – The Lake County Public Health Department reported that one person was quarantined for COVID-19 in the county on Thursday, March 26. The department received the call at 9:10 p.m. from the Department of Public Health and Human Services lab.
“We put up a good, hard fight, but we now join many other counties in our state with a confirmed COVID-19 case,” Lake County Public Health posted.
The confirmed individual with COVID-19 is a 60-year-old male. He had been following the guidance to quarantine at home after being notified that he had been in close contact with a confirmed out-of-county case. “The individual has not been out in the public since this contact, so at this time, there appears to be low-threat of exposure to the community,” according to public health.
Lake County Public Health strongly encourages everyone to abide by Governor Steve Bullock’s directive to stay-at-home.
As of Friday, March 27, at 8:30 a.m., Montana had 108 confirmed cases of COVID-19. Bullock announced on Thursday that one person died in Montana from COVID-19. “Montana is truly one big small town,” he said. “This news hits us hard, but we’re in this together.”
On Thursday at 4:30 p.m., Bullock issued a directive for all Montanans to stay-at-home, starting on March 28. The directive will be in effect through Friday, April 10. All nonessential businesses and operations will be closed. Grocery stores and medical facilities will be open.
The directive also prohibits all public and private gatherings of any number of people occurring outside a household or place of residence. “I am taking these measures because we need to stay in front of this pandemic and slow the growth of infections,” Bullock said. “In order to have a healthy economy, we need a healthy population. We cannot rebuild our economic strength without doing everything we can now to flatten the curve and slow the spread of this virus.”