KALISPELL — The Flathead City-County Health Department is looking to hire additional COVID-19 case investigators due to a projected increase in positive cases.
Flathead County Health Officer Tamalee Robinson said the health department currently has 11 full-time case investigators but are looking to add three more. Robinson said additional case investigators are needed because of an expected uptick in cases due to last week's Northwest Montana Fair and the start of in-person learning.
Robinson said case investigators are working late into evenings and on weekends tracking down close contacts to positive cases.
She says close contacts are anyone within six feet of a confirmed positive case for 15 minutes or longer, within 72 hours before signs and symptoms started.
“We’re expecting a bump from the fair as well as school starting, so we have kind of two big events and we just want to be ready for that,” said Robinson.
Robinson said confirmed close contacts are asked to quarantine for 14 days after last exposure to a lab confirmed case.
