COVID-19 Hospitalizations Dip Into Single Digits in Flathead County
Flathead County had 55 active COVID-19 cases and nine people were hospitalized as of March 14
By Mike Kordenbrock
With active COVID-19 cases between the 60s and 30s over the last week and daily new case numbers hovering in the low double digits, Flathead County is seeing case numbers comparable to last June.
It’s an encouraging development that has Flathead City-County Health Officer Joe Russell feeling some optimism.
“We’re moving in the right direction,” Russell said. “I can’t tell you if this is going to be the way it’s going to stay but …when you get to this level of viral load in your community, it’s a really good thing.”
In a Friday, March 11 situation report from Russell, Flathead County had 64 active cases, and had reported 33 new cases, compared to just four one day earlier. According to Russell the spike in cases was attributed to a long-term care facility reporting 25 cases from January and February to the state infectious disease reporting system.
On Monday, March 7, there were six people hospitalized at the Logan Health Medical Center, including five unvaccinated people. At the time, two people were receiving intensive unit care and one person was on a ventilator. The recent drop into single-digit hospitalizations is the first time hospital spokesperson Chris Leopold said he could recall the hospital census falling below double digits since the hospital began tracking daily COVID-19 hospitalizations in early September.
“The previous low I remember seeing was 11 back in early January,” Leopold said by email on March 7.
As of Monday, March 14, Leopold said there were nine people hospitalized at the Logan Health Medical Center, including five unvaccinated people. Two people were receiving intensive unit care and no one was on a ventilator.
The deaths of 268 people in Flathead County have been attributed to COVID-19. The state reporting website so far in March has been updated to show an additional eight deaths in the county. Two of those deaths happened in March, and six happened between December and February, according to an email update from the Governor’s Coronavirus Task Force.
In Flathead County, 45% of residents have been vaccinated against COVID-19. From April 2021 through March 4, 2022, 80% of COVID-19 hospitalizations and 77% of COVID-19 deaths in Montana were among unvaccinated people.