April 10, 2020
As of noon today, April 10, 2020, there are still only 3 cases of COVID-19 in Ravalli County. All cases were travel originated. The people that tested positive are in isolation and their contacts are being quarantined.
Masks. The Ravalli County Health Department is following the recommendation of the Center for Disease Control, “ As of April 3, the Centers for Disease Control “now recommends that people wear cloth or fabric face coverings, which can be made at home, when entering public spaces such as grocery stores and public transit stations. It is mainly to prevent those people who have the virus — and might not know it — from spreading the infection to others.
The mask need not be professional-grade to offer some benefit. In fact, officials say it probably shouldn’t be. The CDC recommends constructing your own cloth mask, so as to help ensure that doctors and nurses can obtain access to medical-grade surgical or N95 masks amid a widespread outbreak.
Still, as the virus spread to every state in the U.S., it has become clear that people can contract and spread the virus without showing symptoms, rendering it difficult — if not impossible — to distinguish healthy from infected individuals without a formal test. So, it may protect other people who come into contact with the unknowing individual.
What are all those cars doing there? Incident Commander, Dr. Carol Calderwood: “We have received numerous calls with questions about businesses, primarily: Is that an essential business? How can the business be practicing social distancing with many cars in the parking lot?
Governor Bullock’s March 26th, directive specifically lists essential businesses. Google Montana essential services for a complete list, or call our Emergency Operations Center at
406-375-6650 or the State hotline 888-333-0461.
In Ravalli County when the Emergency Operations Center receives an inquiry, the business is contacted by phone or personal visit. In the majority of contacts, the majority of businesses are not only meeting the recommendations of distancing and cleanliness, they are doing more. If you don’t feel ‘safe’, take care of yourself; come back at a different time. The point here, we are doing this together.
Residents in Ravalli County should be proud of all the preventative actions they are taking.”