Valley County Sees Spike In COVID-19 Cases

Editor's Note: Since this story has been published, the Valley County Health Department has added 10 more confirmed COVID-19 cases to the total. As of Sept. 30, at 2:31 p.m., the County has 35 active cases, with one current hospitalization.

Over the past week, Montana has seen record highs in new COVID-19 cases and Valley County is no exception. As the state logged a new daily record of 346 new cases on Sept. 26, Valley County added 28 more cases to the total over the past week, bringing the county up to 30 active cases as of press time. The new cases range in age from those age nine or less with the oldest patient being between the age of 80 to 89.

During the past week, the Glasgow School District was notified four students at Irle School have tested positive for COVID-19, adding to the previous cases that were announced earlier in September. On Sept. 23, the District was notified the two students last attended class or had person-to-person contact with fellow students/staff at Irle on Sept. 17. Four days later, the District was notified two more students tested positive who had last attended in-class or had person-to-person contact with fellow students/staff at Irle on Sept. 22. In both cases, the classroom(s)/student(s) involved are remote learning and at this time there are no decisions to close the school or the district. The Health Department and the School District are working together to complete cleaning protocols and will continue utilizing other prevention steps including temperature checks, sanitizing classrooms and having hand-washing stations.

On Sept. 24, after announcing 11 new cases for the day, the Valley County Health Department stated nearly 90 close contacts were referred to Frances Mahon Deaconess Hospital from 8 a.m. on Sept. 21 through 4 p.m. on the 24th to be tested and were subsequently ordreed to quarantine until test results came back. Prior to the announcement on Sept. 24, three cases were announced on Sept. 23, while another nine cases were announced on Sept. 25, followed by five more cases on Sept. 27. The Health Department attributed one event where masks were not worn and social distancing was not followed led to over 20 cases in the County, as of press time.

The Health Department appreciates those who are following guidance by wearing masks, practicing social distancing and good hygiene, as they believe there would be more positive cases right now if not for those precautions. A release from the Health Department stated, “If it weren’t for those wearing masks, practicing social distancing, and good hygiene, we would likely have more positive results right now. It is through the efforts of cohorts at schools, distancing at sports practices and students cooperating that several other large groups did not need to be tested or quarantine.”

Director of the Valley County Health Department Lynn Miller stresses we need help from those who aren’t wearing masks and aren’t social distancing stating, “We need your help to keep our kids in school, adults at work, and all of us enjoying our activities outside of school and work. We need everyone to take this seriously and do better.”

Due to the county's current number of active cases, Governor Bullock’s directive, which was issued in July, is in effect. Employees and customers of businesses, government offices and other indoor spaces open to the public are required to wear a face mask that covers their mouth and nose while inside the establishments. The Health Department advises to wear cloth masks with two or more layers while avoiding masks that are made of materials that make it too hard to breathe, masks with valves or vents which would allow virus particles to escape as well as masks that should be saved for healthcare workers.

The confirmed cases confirmed over the past week were:

Case 62: A female aged 30-39 who is isolating at home. This individual is symptomatic and was identified through contact tracing. The investigation and contact tracing are ongoing.

Case 63: A female aged 10-19 who is isolating at home. This individual was identified through contact tracing. The investigation and contact tracing are ongoing.

Case 64: A male aged 10-19 who is isolating at home. This individual was identified through contact tracing. The investigation and contact tracing are ongoing.

Case 65: A male aged 40-49 who is isolating at home. This individual is not symptomatic and was identified through contact tracing. The investigation and contact tracing are ongoing.

Case 66: A female age 9 or less who is isolating at home. This individual is not symptomatic and was identified through contact tracing. The investigation and contact tracing are complete.

Case 67: A male aged 40 - 49 who is isolating at home. This individual is not symptomatic and was identified through contact tracing. The investigation and contact tracing are complete.

Case 68: A male aged 50 - 59 who is isolating at home. This individual is symptomatic and was identified through contact tracing. The investigation and contact tracing are complete.

Case 69: A female aged 20 - 29 who is isolating at home. This individual is symptomatic and was identified through contact tracing. The investigation and contact tracing are ongoing.

Case 70: A female aged 70 - 79 who is isolating at home. This individual is symptomatic and was identified through contact tracing. The investigation and contact tracing are complete.

Case 71: A female age 9 or less who is isolating at home. This individual is not symptomatic and was identified through contact tracing. The investigation and contact tracing are complete.

Case 72: A female aged 10 - 19 who is isolating at home. This individual is not symptomatic and was identified through contact tracing. The investigation and contact tracing are complete.

Case 73: A male aged 30 - 39 who is isolating at home. This individual is not symptomatic and was identified through contact tracing. The investigation and contact tracing are ongoing.

Case 74: A female aged 20 - 29 who is isolating at home. This individual was identified through contact tracing. The investigation and contact tracing are ongoing.

Case 75: A female aged 9 or less who is isolating at home. This individual was identified through contact tracing. The investigation and contact tracing are ongoing.

Case 76: A male aged 20-29 who is isolating at home. This individual was identified through contact tracing. The investigation and contact tracing are ongoing.

Case 77: A male age 9 or less who is isolating at home. This individual is not symptomatic and was identified through contact tracing. The investigation and contact tracing are ongoing.

Case 78: A female aged 40 - 49 who is isolating at home. This individual is symptomatic and was identified through contact tracing. The investigation and contact tracing are ongoing.

Case 79: A male aged 50 - 59 who is isolating at home. This individual is symptomatic and was identified through contact tracing. The investigation and contact tracing are complete.

Case 80: A female aged 10 - 19 who is isolating at home. This individual was identified through contact tracing. The investigation and contact tracing are ongoing.

Case 81: A female age 9 or less who is isolating at home. This individual was identified through contact tracing. The investigation and contact tracing are ongoing.

Case 82: A male age 40 - 49 who is isolating at home. This individual was identified through contact tracing. The investigation and contact tracing are complete.

Case 83: A male aged 50 - 59 who is isolating at home. This individual is symptomatic and was identified through contact tracing. The investigation and contact tracing are complete.

Case 84: A female aged 10 - 19 who is isolating at home. This individual is not symptomatic and was identified through contact tracing. The investigation and contact tracing are ongoing.

Case 85: A female age 10 - 19 who is isolating at home and is symptomatic. The investigation and contact tracing are ongoing.

Case 86: A female age 20 - 29 less who is isolating at home. The investigation and contact tracing are ongoing.

Case 87: A female age 10 - 19 who is isolating at home. The investigation and contact tracing are ongoing.

Case 88: A female age 80 - 89 who is isolating at home. This individual is symptomatic. The investigation and contact tracing are ongoing.

Case 89: A male age 9 or less who is isolating at home. The investigation and contact tracing are ongoing.