Montana COVID-19 Saturday Report at 377

The April 11 daily report from the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services shows a total 377 positive tests for COVID-19 as of 9 a.m. Saturday. The report shows 6 deaths, 21 people in active hospitalization and 169 Montanans listed as recovered. Looking at Western Montana, Flathead County had 24 positive cases, Lake County 5, Missoula County 29, Ravalli County 3 and Beaverhead County 1. Elsewhere in the state, largest totals were Gallatin County with 135, Yellowstone County (Billings) 57, Helena 16 and Toole County with 20. The numbers will be refreshed Sunday morning.

In Ravalli County, The COVID-19 Incident Management Team is asking people to follow the Centers for Disease Control recommendation to wear cloth or fabric face coverings, especially in places where 6-foot separation is not possible, such as grocery stores. The masks can be made at home and do not need to be professional grade. The reason for the mask requirement - evidence has shown that people can spread the disease even if they have no symptoms, which makes it impossible to tell who is infected and who is not without a formal test - which are not commonplace yet.

Also, Incident Commander Dr. Carol Calderwood said that there have been calls about businesses with many cars in the parking lot and if social distancing happening in those businesses. She said that when contacted by the county team, those businesses have been meeting the CDC recommendations and in many cases, doing more. However, she suggested if you don't feel safe, come back to the business at a different time when there are not as many cars in the lot. You can Google "Montana essential services" to see which businesses are supposed to stay open. Or you can call the state hotline at 888-333-0461. The Ravalli County Emergency Operations Center will be closed on Easter Sunday and will resume operations Monday morning, April 13, at 8 a.m. The phone number is 375-6650.