County residents not doing much to control spread of virus

The positivity rate in Flathead County for coronavirus was about 35% from data collected from Oct. 29 to Nov.11 by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid.

The positivity rate is the percentage of people tested that were actually positive for the virus. For example, if 100 people were tested and 35 tested positive for the illness, the positivity rate would be 35 percent.

Kalispell Regional Medical Center, which has its own lab, said Monday its positivity rate has been hovering between 23% and 29%.

According to John Hopkins University, a good positivity rate is less than 5% to stop or slow the spread of the disease.

From Nov. 15 to Nov. 21, the county saw 1,011 new cases.

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid gathers data on each county in the U.S.

Currently, Flathead County has about 2,240 active cases and last week, the Flathead City-County Health department urged people to avoid large gatherings this Thanksgiving.

More than a few folks are already ignoring the advisory — the Hungry Horse News saw a large birthday party in a city park over the weekend and several folks have commented on social media that they plan on having the same big dinners they’ve always had.

Still, Gov. Steve Bullock last week ordered new restrictions on gatherings and mask wearing.

The governor’s latest directive will require people across Montana, including in all K-12 schools, to wear face coverings in most situations. Previous directives from July and August imposed the mask mandate only in counties with four or more confirmed cases of COVID-19.

The new directive also will require restaurants, bars, breweries, distilleries and casinos to operate at no more than 50% capacity and close no later than 10 p.m. Establishments won’t be allowed to seat more than six people at a table, and social distancing between tables still will be required.

Public gatherings will be limited to 25 people when social distancing isn’t practiced. Bullock also urged Montanans not to participate in private social gatherings of 15 or more people, as health experts have identified such gatherings as primary spreaders of the virus.

Meanwhile, more people died last week.

As of Friday afternoon, six residents at Brendan House had died from COVID-19-related complications as the long-term care facility in Kalispell continues to battle an outbreak that has infected the vast majority of its residents.

According to Mellody Sharpton, spokesperson for Kalispell Regional Healthcare, the parent entity of Brendan House, there are currently 50 active cases at the facility. All of these individuals are in isolation and are being closely monitored by staff.

All told, 30 people in Flathead County have died of the disease, with three new deaths last week.

At School District 6, the number of students who have contracted the virus is relatively low — just 3%, or 63 students out of more than 2,085 since school started.

But the staff rate is higher. So far 22 staffers have tested positive — 10 at Glacier Gateway Elementary alone. The junior high had to shut down for more than a week after 10 staffers had to quarantine due to exposure to someone who had the disease. The junior high, as of Nov. 19, had just two staffers that actually contracted the disease.

Districtwide, there are five active cases among staff as of Nov. 19.

This story contains additional reporting from Kianna Gardner and Chad Sokol.