MISSOULA — The Missoula City-County Health Department has rolled out surveillance testing for COVID-19 to the public.
Incident Commander Cindy Farr tells MTN News people who have a lot of interaction with the public will be randomly selected to test for the coronavirus disease.
The department will target a variety of frontline workers -- for example, school bus drivers or people working in personal care like massage therapists.
As for vaccination, Missoula County remains in Phase 1B, but may shift to Phase 1B+ in the coming weeks.
Farr tells MTN News she does expect Missoula County to move to Phase 1C in the spring or early summer, matching Gov. Gianforte's projected plan for vaccine rollout in Montana.
As of Monday, March 8, 2021, Missoula County residents in the following occupations may sign up for testing at the Flynn Lane Clinic and Mobile Testing Clinic:
- Healthcare workers
- School personnel (including teachers, aides, janitors, etc.)
- First responders
- Grocery store employees
- Food service employees
- Gym employees Public transit employees (includes school bus drivers)
- Personal care workers (hair stylists, massage therapists, tattoo artists, etc.)
- Government workers (mail delivery, etc.)
- Guests and residents of congregate settings
To make an appointment, residents should call 406-258-INFO (4636), and select option 2 to speak with a screener scheduler. In Missoula, testing is available Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. while Saturday and Sunday hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Additionally, MCCHD offers testing in Seeley Lake, Clinton, Lolo, and Frenchtown through the mobile testing clinic.