Two weeks after roughly 40,000 people attended the Northwest Montana State Fair and Rodeo in Kalispell, health officials are saying the event did not lead to a COVID-19 outbreak in the county.
Sunday marked the end of 14-day incubation period for the fair’s last day. Over the past few weeks, the Flathead City-County Health Department has been asking Flathead County residents with positive COVID-19 results whether or not they attended the fair.
Interim Flathead County Health Officer Tamalee Robinson said that so far, seven diagnosed residents reported attending.
“We would not determine we had an outbreak related to the fair at all,” she said.
The fair attracted widespread attention after county organizers reportedly had issues enforcing mask and social-distancing mandates. The fair typically attracts residents from surrounding counties as well, but none of the surrounding counties’ health departments have publicly reported any cases tied to the event.