The first cases of community spread of the COVID-19 virus have been reported in Ravalli County. While the first several cases of people in the county testing positive for the infection were determined to be “travel” related, a few recent cases have not been tracked back to any travel experience or any contact with any other people known to have been exposed. It indicates that the virus has most likely planted itself here and is now circulating within the community.
As positive cases in the state began to climb with the movement into Phase 2 of reopening, so did cases in Ravalli County, and the Ravalli County Public Health Department is now working overtime on following up on all those positive tests. The follow up includes tracking all contacts with the person testing positive over the past 14 days.
According to Public Health Nurse Karyn Johnston, all people testing positive are quarantined and then an investigation is begun to identify all known contacts that person had in the previous two weeks. This is done to identify anyone who may have been infected. These people are tested and then quarantined for 14 days even if they test negative. This is done, according to Johnston, because an infected person may spread the virus for up to two weeks prior to showing any symptoms. She said there had been cases in the county where people tested negative upon entry into quarantine and showed no signs of any symptoms until the 12th day of quarantine. They were tested again and found to be positive at that point.
The aim of the contact tracing, of course, is to track back and be able to test all the exposed people on an infected person’s contact list. This is a time consuming effort. Not only are the three nurses on staff at the Public Health Department working overtime on this, four additional nurses have been called in temporarily to assist. As of Wednesday, July 1, there were 20 positive cases in the county and over 150 people in quarantine. Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital reports that it recently processed 80 COVID-19 tests in a single day.
The county health department recently acknowledged the “community spread” cases that have cropped up and some restaurants which had opened under the Phase 2 re-opening plan are now stepping back. Mission Bistro in Stevensville, for instance, has closed its restaurant to in-house dining and returned to take-out only services out of an abundance of caution. According to Johnston, the only reported case in Stevensville was not related to a business but at a private residence.
Some of the positive cases in the county have tracked back to involve some businesses, however. Fin’s Taphouse in Corvallis, for instance, shut down recently when it turned out that a positive case made a visit to the business while potentially contagious. The business shut down voluntarily and worked with the Ravalli County Health office to get the place in the proper condition and with the proper protocols in place to re-open. According to Fin’s website, it is re-opening on Thursday, July 2. “After working closely with the Ravalli County Public Health Department, our staff will be stepping up on our continued efforts to adhere to the CDC Guidelines. Don’t worry, we will be smiling behind our masks.”
Johnston said that her office knows the exact date that the COVID-19 positive person went into Fin’s, but she would not say what that date was. She said that by providing the date she might be indirectly divulging the identity of the infected person and subsequently violating his or her right to privacy. Given the date, she said, some person in the community could possibly figure out who it was. She said that violating a patient’s right to privacy concerning medical information and records could cost her a $50,000 fine and her nursing license. However, Fin’s Taphouse has posted on its Facebook page that a person who tested positive was in the business on Tuesday, June 23 and Wednesday, June 24 between 3 and 7 p.m.
Johnston said that her office did have a list of businesses that have had customers or employees test positive for COVID-19.
“We haven’t told anyone to close,” said Johnston, “but some have chosen to.” She said some businesses, like Fin’s, have chosen to close but others haven’t. She said if an employee at the business tests positive, some of the other employees have been quarantined.
The Bitterroot Star also heard from one of its readers that the local VA Clinic in Hamilton had been shut down following a visit from a person who then tested positive for COVID-19. No one from the Veteran’s Administration could be reached for comment. All listed phone numbers simply led to a message machine with no way to leave a message and no person ever answering despite the fact that it ended with “if you have any other questions please stay on the line.” One phone number for the media to contact the VA in Montana did have an answering machine that was working but no one has yet replied to our message. Asked about the VA being closed due to a visit from a COVID-19 positive person, Johnston said, “Yes, I believe that’s true.”
The Star was finally able to get verification about the VA clinic closure from Catherine Beall, Public Affairs Officer with the Montana VA Health Care System who had contacted the Star on another matter. In an email she stated, “The clinic was disinfected and deep cleaned. It reopened for regular hours yesterday on Wednesday.”
The VA has also scheduled a drive-through COVID-19 testing opportunity for veterans on Wednesday, July 8 from 8:30 to 10 a.m. at 299 Fairgrounds Road, Suite A, in Hamilton.
Asked if any grocery stores had come up on any contact lists, Johnston said, “They just have to figure that they are waiting on people who are testing positive and take the appropriate mitigation measures.”
“We are encouraging everyone to wear a mask when they go out in public,” said Johnston, “and to keep the proper distance from other people.” She said it was a proven effective deterrent to the spread, but it requires a high degree of cooperation.