Businesses work to manage COVID-19

Some local businesses say they are trying to flatten the curve of the spread of COVID-19, although it depends on the cooperation of their customers.

The virus continues to spread, with Montana reporting a new high - 1,101 - of daily news cases in its update Tuesday. Today's update was not available by printing deadline this morning.

Hill County has seen a decrease in the number of new daily cases in the last week, with 15 new confirmed cases reported Tuesday night. Hill County has 231 active cases of COVID-19 and 26 COVID-19-related deaths, with a total of 1,052 cases confirmed in the county.

Montana has made masks and facial coverings mandatory in Montana counties with four or more active cases of COVID-19. Montana is in Phase 2 of COVID-19 restrictions. In bars and restaurants, six feet of social distancing is mandatory. This also applies to wells or taps in areas where drinks are passed to servers or other areas used to prepare or serve food.

Hill County last week passed new restrictions mainly on the size of gatherings when the county failed to meet a goal in reducing the number of new cases a day, which equated to an average of about eight cases a day.

In grocery stores, masks and six feet of social distancing are required.

Tracy Job, co-owner and manager of Gary & Leo's Fresh Foods, said the store has been following the governor's plans to slow the spread of the virus.

"Whatever the governor says, we're doing, following the governor's mandates," Job said. "Everyone in our staff is wearing a mask, there aren't any exceptions. We are doing our best to remain socially distanced, six feet or more apart. We are encouraging good hygiene. We've posted signs on our front doors asking our customers to wear masks."

If someone isn't wearing a mask the store assumes that customer has a medical condition. Gary & Leo's also provides masks to customers who need them.

They don't confront customers who don't wear masks, Job said.

With close contact mandates in place, carry-out and delivery are options to help curb the spread. Dottie Wilson said her business, Infinity Bake Shoppe, "has been blessed" with carry out and curb-side delivery to keep the shop thriving, and she has implemented mandates in the midst of the virus.

"We are absolutely mandating masks in the building and we have sanitation stations set up. We are sanitizing the tables and chairs in between each use," Dottie Wilson said. "We've got our tables distanced out so they are six feet apart. We've really ramped up our cleaning, we're wiping down our door knobs every 10 or 15 minutes."

Her daughter Maggie Wilson said the business doesn't allow anyone who isn't wearing a mask into the store, or they give them one to come in.

Wilson said curb-side and carry-out orders have a major part of her business and have had a positive impact. Although COVID-19 has had an impact, Wilson said her business has "weathered it pretty well."

Cenex's preparations were to avoid close quarters with customers and mandate masks, which in the early stages of the governor's order hurt business, manager Ashley Azure said.

"We have stickers on the floor that marks six feet apart and we try to keep our six feet distance behind the cubicle." Azure said. "We wear masks and we clean everything as often as we can. It helps when you get people in spurts a lot. Employees are behind plexiglass, which is mandatory."

In the beginning, when Cenex started to ask customers to wear masks they simply refused or threatened to take their business elsewhere she said. As the pandemic continues, that has improved, she said.

"When we first asked customers to wear masks and that we were requiring them they were upset, they were going somewhere else and get their stuff, and then everywhere was requiring them so they didn't have that option. They could be upset, but there was nothing they could do about it," Azure said. "Everywhere they go is like that."