GREAT FALLS — The Cascade City-County Health Department reported on Tuesday afternoon that it has identified an outbreak of six COVID-19 cases in connection with a long-term care facility in Cascade County.
Due to federal privacy regulations (HIPAA), the CCHD will not release the name of the facility or any other details at this time.
Similar situations occurred at such facilities in both Shelby and in Billings; in both of those cases, the facilities issued public statements about their situations.
The CCHD said in a news release that the virus that causes COVID-19 is known to be particularly dangerous to older adults and other vulnerable populations in long-term care settings. CCHD is working with the facility in which the outbreak occurred to determine and activate appropriate strategies for containing and preventing further spread of COVID-19.
“Events like these, sadly, remind us that COVID-19 is still here and we still need to be vigilant in our prevention efforts. CCHD and all of our healthcare partners in Cascade County are doing everything in their power to contain this disease—please help us keep our community, especially our vulnerable population, safe,” said Trisha Gardner, the Cascade County Health Officer.