By Mira Brody EBS STAFF
BOZEMAN – On March 14 the Gallatin County Health Department held a press conference to update the public on a confirmed COVID-19 case in Gallatin County late Friday night. A total of six cases have been confirmed in the state after two additional residents in Missoula tested positive for the virus.
Matt Kelley, Health Officer with Gallatin City-County Health
Department and Cindi Spinelli, GCCHD’s Communicable Disease Specialist, were on
hand to answer questions.
The individual who tested positive for the coronavirus in
Gallatin County is a male in his 40s who returned from Europe on Wednesday, was
tested Thursday, and confirmed positive by Friday evening. He and his family
were cooperative, according to Kelley, and said they had all been home since
their arrival and had no contact with “sensitive places” such as long-term care
facilities, schools or large public events in the interim.
Kelley said the individual’s diligence to stay home while
symptomatic prevented exposure to the public and has resulted in no identified
local contacts of concern related to this case. Health department staff will
continue working with the individual and his family to ensure they remain under
quarantine in their home.
The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services has
been working with the Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport to get the
individual’s flight number and contact the people who were in his immediate radius
during the flight. Extra precautious were taken at the healthcare facility in
which he was treated to prevent the spread of the virus to the point that the
health department currently has no contacts of concern. Even with high-profile
cases such as the coronavirus, the county uses existing, effective protocols to
mitigate communicable diseases, Kelley said.
“Presumptively confirmed” means the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention has yet to officially confirm the case, however from a
local level Kelley said they do not wait for CDC confirmation to act, and are treating
it exactly as if the word presumptive wasn’t there.
At this time, health officials are not disclosing the
individual’s name, the country in Europe from where he traveled, or where in
Gallatin County he lives, according to Kelley. They have no further information
on the three other presumptively confirmed cases in the state of Montana, which
are being handled their own county procedures.
Kelley stressed four key points everyone can follow moving
forward: stay home if you’re sick; wash your hands frequently; focus on your
physical health by eating healthy foods, staying hydrated and getting plenty of
sleep; and finally—be kind and compassionate to one another.
“We are likely to see more cases and more people with mild symptoms isolating at home. They may be our neighbors, our friends or colleagues,” said Kelley. “If so, reach out to them via text email or phone call.”
COVID-19 is a new virus but not a strong one and can be killed with everyday cleaning products and washing your hands with soap and warm water. Spinelli noted that the virus does not seem to survive long when airborne and an individual is unlikely to contract both the flu and coronavirus at the same time. Kelley believes Gallatin County will see more cases soon, but that most people will only experience mild symptoms and recover on their own.
“There’s no magic pill, there’s no vaccine that you’re
missing out on,” Kelley said. “If you have mild symptoms surely contact your
healthcare provider, but have some patience and know that they are working
really hard to make sure they we are serving everybody.”
Testing
at this point does require symptoms and involves a health care professional
ruling out influenza and other respiratory illness. If COVID-19 is suspected,
there are a series of procedures that take place in the Public Health Lab in
Helena to determine whether or not it is a positive case.
It is unclear how the pandemic
will affect our economy this early on, but local businesses are adapting as
they can, many allowing employees to work remotely or enacting a relaxed sick
leave policy.
“We’re trying to stay vigilant,
getting people their money back or shows rebooked if at all possible,” said
Michal Madeline, general manager at Cactus Records in downtown Bozeman, which
serves as a box office for local entertainment venues. “It’s something that’s
changing hour by hour. We just want people to be happy and healthy.”
Gallatin
County currently has no restrictions in place regarding group sizes or large
events, but health officials suggest that to be proactive the community should stay
home to reduce exposure.
“I
can’t emphasize the importance enough of staying home if you are sick,” Kelley
said. “Our first case in Gallatin County followed this advice and likely saved
many from exposure to the disease. Ask yourself: Do you want to be the person
to expose hundreds or dozens of people to COVID-19, or do you want to be the
person who stays home and helps us bend the curve of this pandemic by
preventing new cases?”
Kelley
said the best thing we can do to keep our community healthy is to take care of
ourselves and despite any building anxiety or frustration, to understand that
our healthcare workers are working hard to serve everyone, and to provide them
with patience and grace during this time.