Coronavirus cases continue to surge in Montana as omicron variant spreads

Nora Mabie, GreatFalls
·3 min read
Erica Harp, lead nurse for Great Falls Public Schools, draws up a dose of the pediatric Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine during an Alluvion vaccine clinic on Wednesday at Paris Gibson Education Center.
Erica Harp, lead nurse for Great Falls Public Schools, draws up a dose of the pediatric Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine during an Alluvion vaccine clinic on Wednesday at Paris Gibson Education Center.

COVID-19 cases are surging in Montana, as the highly contagious omicron variant continues to spread.

The state on Wednesday added 3,072 new cases and reported a total of 16,125 active cases. There are 326 active hospitalizations, and as of Monday, Benefis Health System was operating at more than 90% capacity. There have been 2,990 deaths statewide from the virus, which is three additional fatalities since Tuesday.

Cascade County reported 189 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday. The county has 1,178 active cases and 290 total deaths from the virus, which is no new deaths since Tuesday. Forty-nine percent of eligible Cascade County residents are fully immunized, and for the week ending in Jan. 25, Great Falls Public Schools reported 199 active cases districtwide.

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Over the past week, the Cascade City-County Health Department reported there were 1,059 new cases in the county. The average case rate per day has been 185.9 daily new cases per 100,000 people. And 167 Cascade County residents were newly fully vaccinated this week.

Ben Spencer, Cascade City-County Health Department communications and privacy officer, said that while not every COVID-19 test sample is sequenced each week, the 22 tests that were sequenced in the past two weeks all revealed an infection caused by the omicron variant.

Fifty-four percent of eligible Montanans are fully vaccinated. To learn more about vaccines, visit vaccines.gov.

COVID-19 rates by Montana county:

  • Yellowstone County: 451 new, 2,922 active

  • Missoula County: 417 new, 2,277 active

  • Gallatin County: 310 new, 2,644 active

  • Flathead County: 287 new, 1,131 active

  • Lewis and Clark County: 264 new, 1,165 active

  • Cascade County: 189 new, 1,178 active

Great Falls groups host symposium to learn about community health needs

Every three years, the Healthy Lives, Vibrant Futures Coalition, a group comprised of Cascade County nonprofits and government agencies, distributes a Community Health Needs Survey so that county residents can make their voices heard to improve community health.

The coalition includes United Way of Cascade County, Indian Family Health Clinic, Cascade City-County Health Department, Benefis Health System, Alluvion Health and Alliance for Youth.

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Feedback at the symposium and from the survey will be used to develop a community health plan for the next three years. In recent years, health issues that were identified as priorities include: access to health care, maintaining a healthy weight and addressing substance abuse, child abuse and neglect.

The symposium is held virtually this year, and community members may complete it anytime, starting Thursday through Feb. 24. People who provide feedback will be eligible to win prizes, and people can also participate in a Healthy Lives, Vibrant Futures Coalition scavenger hunt at the Holiday Village Mall anytime in February.

For more information, visit eventbrite.com/e/249993726967.

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This article originally appeared on Great Falls Tribune: COVID-19 cases continue to surge in Montana