Covid-19 cases surge yet again

Covid-19 cases in Flathead County have surged back to mid-fall levels as the Omicron variant of the disease has a firm grip on the state.

As of Friday, the county had 1,295 known active cases. The Omicron variant, while perhaps less virulent than other strains, is more contagious.

Of the 11,448 active cases statewide, about 195 were hospitalized, according to figures provided by the state Department of Health and Human Services.

“We consider Omicron to be the dominant circulating strain in the state,” the department noted in a report from Jan. 7.

The disease is being felt in local schools. The Ronan-Columbia Falls home basketball game was canceled Thursday, as Ronan reportedly had most of its team out due to infection or quarantine.

Earlier this month, superintendent Dave Wick said a full 25% of the student body at Glacier Gateway Elementary was out on a Friday. Some of that, however, may have been due to the day of the week.

Great Falls schools went to remote learning due to the virus earlier in the week.

On January 12, Logan Health reported 29 people were hospitalized due to Covid-19, four were in the intensive care unit and two were on ventilators.

Of the 29 in the hospital, nine had been previously vaccinated, though none of them were in the ICU.

The vaccination rate in the county hasn’t ticked up much since August. It was about 40% then, it’s 44% now.

The county on Friday said it would close its vaccination clinic at the fairgrounds on Feb. 1.

Although the mass vaccination site is closing, COVID-19 vaccine will continue to be available in Flathead County. FCCHD will administer COVID-19 vaccine by appointment at the Flathead City-County Health Department Immunization Clinic. Additionally, local pharmacies, healthcare providers, and pop-up clinics throughout the county are also administering vaccine. Interested individuals can visit vaccinefinder.org and type in their zip code to find vaccine availability near them.

“There are still several mass vaccine clinics occurring over the course of this month and we are welcoming walk-ins and appointments. We encourage individuals to come receive their vaccine if they have not already done so,” said Joe Russell, Health Officer of the Flathead City-County Health Department. “We would also like to thank all of our staff and volunteers who worked to make these clinics a success.”

Folks are still urged to get vaccinated if they haven’t yet and vaccinated people are urged to get a booster shot.

The statewide daily case count is right up there now with its heights from the Delta variant in October, when it was about 1,300 a day at its peak.

In the fall of 2020, the daily case count was also in the 1,300s. The disease is now in its third season, with steep spikes in infection rates, followed by steep declines each time.