Weekend adds 96 new COVID-19 cases for Gallatin County

GALLATIN CITY-COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT

BOZEMAN – As of Monday, Oct. 5, Gallatin County has had 96 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 since Friday, Oct. 2, for a cumulative total of 1,670. There were 56 new cases reported on Saturday, 35 new cases reported on Sunday and five new cases reported on Monday. 

There are 198 confirmed active cases and eight current hospitalizations. There have been a total of 1,468 people recovered in Gallatin County. Four people have died from COVID-19 complications. Three cases previously assigned to Gallatin County were reassigned to other areas after further investigation. 

The Health Department releases weekly COVID-19 surveillance reports, released each Friday. These reports are revealing that most positive cases are concentrated in the 19-29 age group.

The World Health Organization recommends a test positivity rate below 5 percent as a criteria for reopening businesses. Public health experts say a positivity rate above 10 percent may mean more testing is necessary in order to avoid missing significant number of cases in the community. The 7-day rolling average of percent positive for Gallatin County was 8.9 percent on Sept. 30, a 27 percent increase from 7 percent on Sept. 23. 

Gallatin City-County Health Department may be alerted to additional cases before the state. A recovered case means that a person who tested positive for COVID-19 has been released from isolation. It’s important to note that even when people are released from isolation, many continue to feel the effects of COVID-19 infection long after they are released from isolation. 

The Gallatin City-County Health Department calculates the recovered case number as the number of total cases minus any active cases, current hospitalizations and deaths. 

The Gallatin City-County Health Department Call Center is open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to answer questions about COVID-19. Reach the Call Center by phone at 406-548-0123 or email at callcenter@readygallatin.com​.