BOZEMAN — There was some key information coming out of the Gallatin City-County Health Department’s weekly meeting on Friday.
Starting with the good news, the health department is seeing a recent increase in vaccinated residents. Gallatin county currently sits at 56 percent of the population fully vaccinated.
But the county community transmission level is in the red zone or considered high, meaning there has been a high rate of spread between residents.
And health officials warn why those unvaccinated may want to consider it now.
“Without a doubt, the Delta variant is the predominant variant not only in the country but in Gallatin County and Montana," said Health Officer Lori Christenson. "So, it is here so we should take all the precautions that we can to protect ourselves from a variant that is highly transmissible.”
The Montana Department of Health and Human Services says there have been positive cases of other variants in Gallatin County, including Gamma, Epsilon, Eta, and Iota variants.
There are 352 newly confirmed cases reported in Montana on Friday, while the number of active cases increased from 2,516 to 2,659.
Flathead County again reported the most new cases with 71, as active cases increased to 555. Cascade County saw the second-largest increase in cases at 56, and active cases increased to 402. Missoula County reported 47 new cases and 289 active cases.
The total number of Montanans who have died due to COVID rose by one to 1,730, according to the Montana Department of Public Health & Human Services (DPHHS).
“Without a doubt, the Delta variant is the predominant variant not only in the country but in Gallatin County and Montana," said Health Officer Lori Christenson.
The number of state residents who have been fully immunized against the virus is now 450,016 (about 49% of the state population). The total number of doses administered is 913,304. If you want to get vaccinated, contact your county health department, or click here.
The number of people currently hospitalized due to COVID rose by one on Friday to 180. The cumulative number of hospitalizations in Montana due to the virus is 5,933.
There have been 119,864 cumulative cases of COVID in Montana. The cumulative number of recoveries stands at 115,475. The total number of COVID tests administered in Montana is 1,545,741.
People can visit the DPHHS website at any time for current state data and county-specific information.
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