KALISPELL — State health officials reported in their Wednesday morning updatethat an additional six confirmed COVID-19 cases are being reported in Flathead County.
The Flathead City-County Health Department reports seeing a rise in coronavirus cases in the past two weeks. As of Wednesday morning, there were 52 active cases* and 158 total cases* of COVID-19 in Flathead County.
Local health officials are urging people to continue to practice "social distancing, masking, and hand hygiene protocols to help keep local businesses and their employees safe.
Health Officer Tamalee St. James Robinson says that many of the newest local cases are being seen in people who work within service industries such as bars and restaurants.
She added that the number of close contacts potentially exposed in each case has also increased as well.
Health officials are urging business owners and community members to make responsible choices and to take all necessary precautions to keep businesses operating.
“If a positive case is identified in a facility, our public health nurses work with the individual to help determine all close contacts that person may have exposed during their infectious period,” St. James Robinson said.
“All close contacts of the positive individual are required to self-quarantine for 14 days since last exposure. This can hit a business hard, especially if many of their staff are named as contacts and must quarantine," she added in a news release.
“It is evident that our county is seeing community spread,” St. James Robinson noted. “We are asking everyone to take Governor Bullock’s Directives seriously to protect the health and wellbeing of our community."
"Wear a mask when in public, stay six feet apart from non-household members, and stay at home if you feel sick. We all must do our part to keep our businesses open during these unprecedented times.”
The most accurate local source of information can be found here.
*Active case and total case numbers were pulled from the Flathead City-County Health Department on 7/22/20. This data is updated more frequently than numbers reflected on the DPHHS COVID-19 Case Dashboard.