News you can use

Bullock: Clear Montanans have let their guard down

Plan to re-open schools announced

During a press conference Thursday, Gov. Steve Bullock encouraged Montanans to wear masks and Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney released the governor’s plan for “Re-opening Safe and Healthy Schools” in the state.

“Yesterday, on July 1, we surpassed over 1,000 cases of COVID-19 since the virus first came to Montana and was identified in mid-March,” Bullock said. “... Montana still maintains the lowest number of positives, hospitalizations and deaths per capita in the continental United States. I say this not to de-emphazise the seriousness of new cases we’ve seen over these past few weeks, rather to underscore that we still can get a grasp on the spread of the virus in our state and we can if we do better as Montanans.”

It’s clear that Montanans have let their guard down, he said.

He said six weddings have had cases associated to them in the last two weeks.

These cases have impacted at least seven Montana counties, he said, and at least two other states.

“Based on how quickly the virus can spread, we also expect many more cases will be linked to these weddings in the coming weeks,” he said. “... We’re also seeing cases directly attributed to bar settings, or crowd control and other guidelines aren’t consistently being followed.”

The state is also seeing cases from work settings, he said, including construction crews and office settings.

He said the cases connected to out-of-state travel or out-of-state contacts has not changed significantly, comprising about 8 percent of the count of cases since June 1.

“Our biggest problem hasn’t been out-of-staters visiting Montana, it’s Montanans not taking all the steps that we need to be doing to limit the transmission of COVID-19,” Bullock said. “... Understanding where and how people become infected is vital to our efforts to prevent transmission. After we identify a risk we can take steps to address it and reduce, and it doesn’t take a degree in infectious disease or epidemiology to understand that when you have large group sizes the more risk there is for everyone involved unless steps are taken to reduce that risk.”

The larger the group, the more likelihood someone has the virus and can pass it on, he said.

He said the more people a person is around that person one doesn’t normally associate with, the more likely one of those people could be COVID-positive.

As Montanans are mingling in large groups without social distancing and without wearing a mask, he said, the state is seeing more outbreaks from group settings.

“We are going to see more cases in the next week as additional contact tracing and testing is conducted on the cases that we’re already aware of and that’s not talking about any potential new clusters. Montanans should be prepared to continue to see high daily numbers,” he said. “As we head into this Fourth of July weekend, I caution that we have to act now to get our hands wrapped around this virus. Let’s make sure that a couple weeks from now we’re actually starting to see a decline in cases or holding at where we are.”

He said in order to do that, Montanans need to be extremely cautious around large crowds or stay away from them.

Be cautious if family or visitors are in town, he added.

Wear a mask when in crowds or even indoors amongst people one is not normally around if social distancing can’t happen, he said.

“The virus certainly poses less risk when outside there is still a risk and now is probably not the time for those huge, massive barbecues, and any event outside should still follow guidelines,” Bullock said. “I do have concern where Montana is headed, but I have greater optimism that Montanans know we have to continue to look out for one another during these times. We’re certainly not in a position of some other states like Florida, Texas, Arizona and California, who have had to close some businesses back down.”

He said Montana doesn’t have to be like these other states and take steps backward.

One of the ways the state can raise its guard is to make wearing a mask a habit and normalized.

“It becomes increasingly clear that wearing a mask is an effective way to stop the spread of COVID-19,” he said. “Masking up is the responsible thing to do because another thing we know about coronavirus is that it spreads asymptomatically or it can spread even if someone isn’t showing any symptoms of the disease.”

He added that it is important for Montanans older than age of 2 to “mask it up” when indoors and in crowds.

COVID-19 spreads in respiratory droplets, he said, when people cough, sneeze, talk, laugh and breathe. Cloth masks are effective because it catches those droplets before it spreads to others.

“Your mask doesn’t have to be a medical-grade filter, it just has to stop those droplets from landing on a counter or likely spreading from one human to another,” Bullock said. “There is no need to wear a mask when you are enjoying a hiking trail with your family; you should mask up when you go to the store or when you pick up your takeout, or hand over your keys when you go in for an oil change.”

Montana Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Todd O’Hair said the Chamber joined the Montana Restaurant Association, Montana Tavern Association, Montana Lodging and Hospitality Association, Montana Gaming Association and the Hospitality and Development Association of Montana Wednesday to call on its members and the businesses as a whole, and the public to increase their usage of face masks out in public.

“Department grants, low-interest loans, business bailout dollars cannot compare to healthy economic activity,” he said. “Businesses will not be able to survive in Montana without a healthy economic activity in the state. Healthy economic activity is founded on a healthy population — a population that feels confident and secure that they can go about their day-to-day life, visit businesses and not have to be as concerned about contracting the COVID virus.”

 Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney said he has led a working group to develop guidance on the planning for the safe and the healthy re-opening of K-12 schools.

“Our students and those responsible for educating them have faced immense disruption during this emergency,” he said. “... For many children, school is the best place to be in a time of endless unknowns and constant flux schools can provide structure and familiarity.”

He said the plan for re-opening school districts has been categorized in three different phases that align with the phases Gov. Bullock’s plan for re-opening the Big Sky.

For example, he said, if the state is in Phase 2 school should follow Phase 2 of this plan.

“Nothing in this guidance prevents a school from taking additional precautions based on their unique needs,” he said. “Each phase has high level guidance for schools and includes specific protocols and considerations for individual plans.”

Some of the basic considerations for schools include accommodations for students who will engage in remote learning and accommodations for students, teachers and staff in at-risk groups, he said.

He added that schools should consider occupancy limits that allow for social distancing, rules for traffic flow and congregational spaces and sanitation procedures.

“Schools should have a procedure for monitoring students and staff for symptoms and history of exposure,” Cooney said. “Produce guidelines on wearing masks, guidelines in relation to isolation and quarantine if needed and expectations on educating and posting information on how to mitigate exposure and spread.”

Schools are asked to think through serving meals, he said, adjusting transportation schedules and protocols for youth activities.

The plan also includes best practices that schools can use when academics, extracurricular activities, transportation, physical and structural protocols to minimize interactions and crowding, and consider the social, emotional and behavioral health of students, he said.

People interested in reading the full plan can visit https://covid19.mt.gov/Portals/223/Documents/Education%20Final.pdf?ver=2020-07-02-123418-013 .

 

Reader Comments(0)

 
 
Rendered 03/10/2024 08:13