MISSOULA — The Missoula City-County Health Department (MCCHD) reports it is continuing to see COVID-19 active cases arising from close contact with known cases.
Missoula County reported 105 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday with more than 1,500 close contacts.
More than 60% of Missoula county's currently active cases are the result of contact with an existing COVID-19 case. While 32% is community spread and 5% is travel related.
Nearly 60% of all current active cases are associated with people 20 to 49 years of age.
According to data released by MCCHD, 25% of the currently active cases are people 20 to 29 years old, 18% ages 30 to 39 years old and 15% are Missoula residents ages 40 to 49.
The average number of daily new cases is 61 per 100,000. The goal is 25 per 100,000 for at least two consecutive weeks.
It’s hoped that an order by the health department that went into effect on Oct. 29 help achieve this goal.
Changes included limiting business capacities to 50%, reducing gathering size to 25 people, stopping alcohol sales at 10 p.m., and a voluntary stay-at-home order.
The purpose of getting the caseload down is to keep schools open, maintain hospital capacity, protect essential services, and protect the vulnerable.