COVID surge brings another local death

The local delta-variant driven surge has caused another COVID-19-related death.

Hill County Health Department reported the death Wednesday in its COVID-19 update. The death brings the Hill County total to 55. It is the second death in October.

The update also reports 40 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed for the county, bringing the total of active cases in Hill County to 203. 10 Hill County residents were hospitalized Wednesday.

Hill County has seen 123 cases reported confirmed in the first six days of October.

The county has a seven-day average of new cases of just fewer than 22 a day. Since the first case was confirmed in Hill County in March 2020, 2,896 cases have been confirmed in the county.

And numbers continue to go up in other areas and counties in this part of north-central Montana.

Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation, the numbers from which are included in either the Hill or Chouteau county numbers, depending on where the person lives, reported four new cases Wednesday with 66 active cases, two active hospitalizations and a total of 1,016 cases since the pandemic hit. It has had nine deaths.

Rocky Boy has reported 48 new confirmed cases in October and has a seven-day average of slightly fewer than than seven cases a day.

Blaine County Health Department reported in its update Wednesday 18 new confirmed cases, with 136 active cases and six active hospitalizations.

Blaine County has had 24 COVID-19-related cases and has a total of 1,235 cases.

It has averaged about 11.5 cases a day in the past seven days.

Fort Belknap Indian Reservation, the numbers from which are included either in the Blaine or Phillips county numbers, depending on where the person lives, reported Wednesday seven new confirmed cases with 59 active cases and three hospitalizations. It has had 648 total cases and 12 deaths.

Data for the number of cases in October for Fort Beknap and its seven-day average were not available.

The state online COVID tracking map reported this morning that Chouteau County had two new confirmed cases with 16 active and 631 total cases and eight deaths.

Its has had 19 cases reported in the last seven days, about 2.7 a day in a seven-day average.

Liberty County was reported by the state system to have no new cases today with 24 active and 243 total cases and one death. It has had 17 cases in the last even days, averaging about 2.5 a day.

And the surge also continues statewide.

The tracking map this morning reported 1,301 new cases with 11,808 active cases and 465 active hospitalizations. It has had 2,070 deaths and 157,372 confirmed cases since the first was confirmed in March 2020.

That includes 7,548 in the past seven days, an average of more than 1,078 a day.

The state has had close to 60 new deaths in October alone.

During this surge, health officials have continued their message basically from the start of the pandemic.

People should stay home if they don't feel well, the officials say, should regularly wash their hands for at least 20 seconds with soap or with a hand sanitizer including at least 60 percent alcohol, should regularly wash and sanitize surfaces, should wear a mask when in indoor public spaces, and anyone who can should get vaccinated.

In Hill County, vaccinations are available through Bullhook Community Health Center, 406-395-4305; the Hill County Health Department, 406-400-2415; Northern Montana Health Care's Specialty Medical Center at 406-265-7831 or its Family Medical Center at 406-265-5408; Western Drug Pharmacy, 406-265-9601; Gary & Leo's Pharmacy, which takes walk-ins; Walmart; and the Rocky Boy Health Center, 406-395-1655.

Vaccinations are available in Blaine County through Blaine County Health Department, 406-357-2345, and Fort Belknap Health Center, 406-353-3219.

Vaccine is available in Chouteau County at the Chouteau County Health Department, 406-622-3771, and Big Sandy Pharmacy at 406-378-5588.

People can call Liberty County Health Department at 406-759-5517 to schedule a vaccination.