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The latest news about the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 in Montana.

Gallatin County Extends COVID-19 Related Closures

Gallatin County is the second Montana county to offer paid parental leave to employees.
Tim Evanson
/
Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Gallatin County is the second Montana county to offer paid parental leave to employees.

On the heels of a third COVID-19 illness case announced out of Gallatin County Wednesday, the County and the city of Bozeman have declared states of emergency. Existing closures of bars and eateries and now gyms, theaters and other indoor recreational facilities, have been extended into April as part of an effort to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The city and county’s declarations activate emergency plans, give authority to close buildings and cancel meetings and allow the county to furnish aid.

The nearby towns of Belgrade and West Yellowstone signed emergency declarations earlier this week. Three Forks is expected to follow suit later this week.

As of Wednesday morning Gallatin County reported a total of three COVID-19 cases: two men in their 20s and one in his 40s. They’re recovering in isolation at home.

Cindi Spinelli with the Gallatin City-County Health Department says her current supply issue concern is stocking up on personal protective equipment for healthcare workers treating potential COVID-19 cases.

“Now we’re looking at other supply issues. To do the tests, the health care provider needs to put on the N95 mask and we know those are in limited supply,” Spinelli said. 

She says they are monitoring to know if they need to hire more health care workers. 

Copyright 2020 Yellowstone Public Radio

Rachel is a UM grad working in the MTPR news department.
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