Starting June 1 Montana will no longer require out-of-state travelers to quarantine for 14 days. Gov. Steve Bullock also announced Phase 2 of the state’s economic reopening plan during a press conference Tuesday.
Montana takes another step toward reopening, with the lowest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people in the country.
"We cannot prevent all COVID-19 cases, but there are things that we can do that will allow Montanans to have some sense of a normal life while still preventing major outbreaks or overwhelming our state’s health care systems," Bullock said.
Under the next phase starting on June 1, the state is continuing to encourage people to stay at home if they’re over 65 years old or have serious underlying health conditions.
Bullock is also giving guidelines to work remotely when possible, practice good hygiene like frequent hand washing, and continue physically distancing 6 feet away from others.
Under phase two, restaurants, bars, gyms and some other businesses can open up to 75 percent capacity. The governor’s directive increases group size limitations. Bullock says to avoid groups larger than 50 people when physical distancing can’t happen. Social distancing is always recommended.
Montana has had more than 470 lab confirmed cases of COVID-19. Eighteen are considered active. Sixteen people in Montana have died due to the virus.