Yellowstone County health officials say COVID-19 related hospitalizations have increased in recent weeks.
A spokesperson with the Yellowstone County Public Health department says cases rose in April and May after hospitals saw 10 or fewer daily hospitalizations for most of March. The spokesperson says 21 people were actively hospitalized in Billings Thursday.
Billings Clinic infectious disease specialist Dr. Neil Ku sees a younger population of unvaccinated patients among those hospitalized.
“Where we had previously seen a lot more of the 65 and older, now we’re seeing more of those below that age group,” Ku says.
According to state data, the number of hospitalizations across Montana has been holding steady the last couple months. 59 people were hospitalized in the state due to COVID on Friday.
The state health department announced Friday that it’s switching to weekday-only updating for its online dashboard showing vaccine and case counts across the state. Numbers reported on Monday will include those from the weekend.
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