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MISSOULA – As the number of COVID-19 cases in Missoula County continues to rise, elected officials are begging residents to mask themselves, get vaccinated and practice social distancing.
But those efforts have largely fallen on deaf ears, as only 65% of the county’s eligible population has been vaccinated. Missoula is now the state’s No. 1 viral hotspot outside of Yellowstone County, with more than 1,800 active cases.
Missoula County ended face-to-face meetings this week to protect public safety.
“We are going back to everything virtual given the state of the pandemic in Missoula County, which is not good,” said Commissioner Dave Strohmaier.
Missoula Mayor John Engen recently visited an intensive care unit at Community Medical Center to “get first-hand eyes and experience” of the situation medical providers face. This week, he shared his observations, calling it a dire situation.
“I can tell you that whatever you have heard, I have now seen it,” he said. “These people who provide health care in our community are exhausted, but they don’t give up. “
Engen, who joined local health officials in seeking help from the Montana National Guard last month, said the community had expanded its beds into a pediatric unit to meet the challenges of the Delta variant and the Grand number of patients.
“While I was on tour there was code blue, and I don’t know, but I imagine, that the patient died during this tour from COVID-19,” Engen said. “The virus remains very real and has very real impacts in our community. “
Earlier this week, local health authorities reported a record number of hospitalizations and 129 deaths from Covid. The number of active cases also remains at an all time high.
Cindy Farr, COVID-19 incident commander at the city and county health department, said the county was seeing an increase in the number of people who have died from the virus. More than a week at the end of last month, 11 other residents have died.
Half were middle-aged and the other half were elderly, Farr said.
“Deaths in the past three months have far exceeded deaths from the rest of the pandemic before this,” Farr said. “This shows us that the Delta variant is not only more contagious but also more deadly than the original strain we saw last year.”
Frustrated by Montana policies prohibiting health officials from taking local action to stem the spread of the virus, a coalition of healthcare providers and patients filed a lawsuit this week against the state, hoping to overturn a law which they believe endangers public health.
The lawsuit said the law illegally prevents doctors, their offices and hospitals from providing a safe environment for patients. The lawsuit comes amid a resurgence of COVID-19 infections in Montana, with many large hospitals across the state filled with infected patients.
“Lives are being lost needlessly,” Engen said. “People who might otherwise need hospital-based services may not be able to receive these services. “
Montana’s COVID-19 tracking website showed 112 new and 1,821 additional assets were registered in Missoula County on Friday. To date, a total of 13,719 cases have been confirmed in the county, including 11,769 recoveries and 129 deaths.
There were 56 COVID-19-related hospitalizations reported in Missoula County on Friday, including 43 county residents.
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