(C) Daily Montanan This story was originally published by Daily Montanan and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Montana COVID-19 cases climb since spring, but hospitals report no widespread concern – Daily Montanan [1] ['Keila Szpaller', 'More From Author', '- July'] Date: 2022-07-11 More than half of the counties in Montana are facing a high level of potential impacts from COVID-19, according to the most recent update from the Department of Public Health and Human Services. “We’re just taking it day by day,” said Kaci Husted, vice president of communications for Benefis Health System in Great Falls; Cascade County is among the counties marked at a high community level. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calculates community levels as low, medium or high based on new COVID-19 admissions, staffed COVID-19 beds, and new cases. Although those metrics place 35 of Montana’s 56 counties at a high level, six counties counted zero active cases and zero newly reported cases as of Friday, according to the most recent DPHHS dashboard: Garfield, Golden Valley, Petroleum, Powder River, Treasure and Wibaux. DPHHS updates the dashboard weekly on Fridays. Monday in Great Falls, Benefis counted 20 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, roughly consistent with the 18 in the hospital one week ago, Husted said. However, she noted the count was at eight just two weeks ago and had stayed in the single digits for several weeks up until then. Although 20 patients may sound like a lot, Husted said it’s not high compared to the 65 or more in the hospital at the height of COVID-19. In Montana, cases peaked in November 2020, before the vaccine was available, and then again in September and October 2021 and January 2022. In an email, Katy Peterson, vice president of communications for the Montana Hospital Association, said the organization is not hearing widespread or statewide concerns from hospitals about an uptick. At peak times, some hospitals were hurting for ICU beds, ventilators and staff, and they put patient beds in hallways and stopped routine procedures. “It seems to be pretty regionalized the past couple months,” Peterson said in an email Friday. “There was a small surge of patients in Lake County area about a month ago, after an extended period of no COVID-positive patients.” On June 27, the Missoula City-County Health Department sent out a news release recommending indoor mask use for everyone, regardless of vaccination status. Missoula County also is listed as at a high community level for COVID-19, and Health Department Public Information Officer Hayley Devlin said Monday the recommendation remains in place and is in line with CDC guidelines. “Missoula County has ample access to the tools needed to prevent the worst outcomes of COVID-19,” Devlin said in an email. “MCCHD encourages residents to make use of vaccines, boosters, therapeutics and masks to protect themselves and vulnerable residents in our community.” In Montana, 56 percent of the eligible population is considered fully vaccinated, according to the DPHHS dashboard. In the U.S., 67 percent of the population is fully vaccinated, according to the Johns Hopkins University and Medicine Coronavirus Resource Center. To date, 3,450 people have died from COVID-19 in Montana, according to DPHHS. [END] --- [1] Url: https://dailymontanan.com/2022/07/11/montana-covid-19-cases-climb-since-spring-but-hospitals-report-no-widespread-concern/ Published and (C) by Daily Montanan Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/montanan/