New local COVID-19 cases reported in Blaine, Hill counties

New cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in Hill and Blaine counties Tuesday, bringing the active number of cases to four in Hill County and two in Blaine County, the respective county health departments report.

Hill County reported two new cases, one in a person age 0 to 9 whose case is travel-related and one person age 60-69, identified by contact tracing.

“Public health investigations and contact tracing are ongoing. With these two new positives it brings our active cases to four, which imposes Gov. Bullock’s mask mandate again,” a release from the Hill County Health Department said. “Please do your part to stop the spread of COVID-19.”

The release said the totals for Hill County now are 46 cases, four active, 40 recovered and two deaths.

Rocky Boy Health Center reported one confirmed case, which also is reported by the county of residence of the person with COVID-19, generally Hill County or Chouteau County.

Blaine County Health Department said in a release that it was notified of two additional COVID-19 lab results Tuesday, both identified through contact tracing.

The release said all active cases are isolated and contact tracing is complete. Cases and contacts are monitored throughout their isolation and quarantine by public health and that monitoring is ongoing.

The release noted that some differences may show between the county reports and the list on the state COVID-19 tracking map because the state health department recently changed how it is collecting information form local health departments.

“We expect some delays and need for increased clarification … until the process is more familiar for everyone. For the most up to date information, stay tuned to our Facebook page,” the Blaine County Health Department release said.

Also, we have seen a rise in reported contacts as case counts across north-central Montana increase,” the release added. These contacts are monitored through a 14-day quarantine period.

“Adherence to the quarantine is the only way to keep potentially infectious people away from people who are at higher risk of poor outcomes,” it said. “Please, if you are directed to quarantine, follow those recommendations and do your part to keep this response manageable for your health care and public health resources.”

Chouteau County Health Department reported no new cases Tuesday and that another person was released from isolation, bringing the active cases there to two.

“Please continue to practice all safety recommendations,” the department said in a post on its Facebook page.

The state tracking map listed Chouteau County with two active cases and eight recovered cases.

Liberty County was listed with one recovered case, identified in March.

One of the Hill County cases also was identified in March, all other cases have been confirmed from July 4 on.

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https://www.facebook.com/blainecountyhealthdepartment .

https://www.facebook.com/Chouteau-County-Health-Department-191027850924298 .

https://www.facebook.com/hillcountyhealth .

https://www.facebook.com/RockyBoyHealthCenter .

Links to the state COVID-19 tracking map can be found at https://montana.maps.arcgis.com or at https://covid19.mt.gov .