The City-County Health Department in Great Falls on Thursday announced the third COVID-19-related death in Cascade County.
The CCHD said in a news release that the death of the man, who was over the age of 65 and had "underlying health conditions," is related to the recent outbreak in a Cascade County long-term care facility. Out of respect for the family, the CCHD said that no addition information will be released.
“I am saddened at the death of this man, and I mourn with his family and loved ones as they face this loss,” said Trisha Gardner, Health Officer for Cascade County. “We know that COVID-19 is particularly dangerous to older adults. I hope that everyone in our community will think of their own vulnerable loved ones and take every precaution to slow the spread of this virus.”
The CCHD said on Tuesday that it identified an outbreak of six COVID-19 cases in connection with the long-term care facility. Due to federal privacy regulations (HIPAA), the CCHD has not released the name of the facility or any other details. Similar situations occurred at such facilities in both Shelby and in Billings; in both of those cases, the facilities issued public statements about their situations.
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The first COVID-related death in Cascade County was a woman over the age of 65 on April 17th; the second was a man over the age of 65 on April 20th.
Montana added 173 new cases to the total on the Montana Response COVID-19 tracking map on Thursday morning. Numbers reported by the state each day occasionally differ from those reported by county public health departments due to periodic lag times in reporting data to the state. The data below is from the official Montana website on August 6th, and does not include this most recent death:
- TOTAL CASES & RECOVERIES: Montana now reports 4,602 cumulative cases statewide, with 2,964 people recovered.
- HOSPITALIZATIONS: There are currently 87 patients hospitalized. There have been 259 hospitalizations due to COVID-19 since the pandemic began.
- ACTIVE CASES: The state reports there are currently 1,573 active COVID-19 cases in Montana.
- TESTING: The number of tests increased by 2,691 over the previous 24-hour reporting period, for a new cumulative state-wide total of 185,815.
- DEATHS: The cumulative number of deaths in Montana is now 65.