Businesses temporarily closing in Havre in response to COVID-19 surge

In the past week, some businesses in the Havre area have announced temporarily shutdowns on their Facebook pages, and on signs on their doors, either because employees have been quarantined for COVID-19 exposure or as a precaution against the recent surge of cases in Hill County.

Hill County Public Health Director and Health Officer Kim Larson said during the Hill County Health Board meeting Friday that these closures are beneficial to public health and she is glad that business owners are stepping up and thinking about public health during the pandemic.

"I think it's definitely helpful," Larson said, "Those businesses are seeing a need and doing their part to slow the spread of COVID-19 in Hill County."

The closures come as more cases and deaths continue to occur in the area and other entities like Rocky Boy's and Fort Belknap Indian reservations went into lockdown.

The Hill County Health Board is considering imposing new restrictions to spread the slow of the virus.

The Havre Public Schools Board of Trustees Friday voted to continue operating its schools this week in the blended model it has been using, with that issue to be revisited at its regular meeting Tuesday.

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Among the Havre businesses which recently closed due to the pandemic was Nalivka's Pizza Kitchen on First Street, which said on Facebook last Monday that it would be temporarily closing due to an employee having test positive for the virus.

The post said the business would use the time to clean and sanitize the establishment and that they plan to re-open.

Master Sports on First Street announced its closure last Tuesday because several of their employees were not feeling well and they wanted to close as soon as possible in case any of them tested positive.

Amanda Hammond of Crossroads Hair & Design announced on Facebook last Thursday that she was recently determined to have been a close contact of a positive case and has consequently had to close her business temporarily as well.

Other establishments like Tip It on Third Street North announced their closure as a public health measure though they had no positive cases or quarantined employees.

Tip It's Facebook page announced their closure Oct. 7 and they have yet to announce their re-opening.

Oxford Bar did the same last Monday, calling it a tactical closure for the sake of public health and the safety of their customers and employees. The establishment also thanked its customers for being tolerant of their temporary closure.

Fifth Avenue Grind also closed temporarily starting last Thursday as a precaution, but opened back up this past Saturday, and confirmed that they had no positive cases and just wanted to be cautious.

The Golden Spike on First Street also temporarily closed last week saying on Facebook that they've had no positive cases and apologized for the inconvenience to their customers.

Other businesses posting signs that they were just closing to protect the health of their employees and customers include Hi-Line Gold Casino and Crystal City Casino.