Public health officials in Montana are reporting a significant uptick in COVID-19 cases and are seeing the highest rate of related hospitalizations in the country.
Wastewater surveillance shows COVID-19 is rising within the city of Missoula. Wastewater monitoring measures the amount of viral RNA produced by COVID-19 among residents.
Missoula Public Health’s Cindy Farr said monitoring is a valuable tool.
“You’ll be able to tell if incidence of disease is starting to rise in your community, sometimes before you ever start seeing a lot more positive cases,” Farr said.
According to Farr, detection of COVID in Missoula’s wastewater plummeted to near zero in mid-July before skyrocketing in August.
“So that tells us we need to make sure that the public is aware that we’re seeing more COVID so that people can take precautions,” Farr said.
Those experiencing COVID symptoms – chills, persistent coughing, fatigue, body aches, loss of taste or smell – are urged to stay home and test. If results are positive, experts say isolate for five days after onset of symptoms and notify close contacts.
The Gallatin City-County Health Department Wednesday also announced an uptick in local COVID and flu cases.
According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest data, Montana has the nation’s highest COVID-19 hospital admission rate. As of Sep. 23, Montana reported 115 new hospital admissions. That’s a 32% increase from the previous week.
Health officials urge Americans to get their COVID, flu and RSV vaccinations as soon as possible this fall.
