The Pondera County Health Department reported the county's first coronavirus-related death on Saturday morning.
"It is with deep sadness that we announce the first death of a Pondera County resident from complications due to COVID-19," a news release from the health department says (read here).
The health department declined to release further information about the death — including the individual's identity — citing privacy concerns.
There are 42 active cases in Pondera County as of Saturday afternoon, per the state's coronavirus tracking map and an MTN News database. There have been 42 active cases and 21 recoveries in Pondera County, which has nearly 6,000 residents according to the latest census data.
There were 501 new cases and no new deaths added to the total on the Montana COVID-19 tracking site on Saturday morning. The data below is from the official Montana website on October 3:
- TOTAL CASES & RECOVERIES: Montana now reports 14,356 cumulative cases statewide, with 9,601 people recovered.
- HOSPITALIZATIONS: The state reports 189 current hospitalizations, and a cumulative total of 741 hospitalizations.
- ACTIVE CASES: The state reports there are currently 4,569 active COVID-19 cases in Montana.
- TESTING: The number of tests increased by 1,421 over the previous 24-hour reporting period, for a new cumulative state-wide total of 354,783.
- DEATHS: The cumulative number of deaths in Montana is at 186.
Numbers reported by the state each day occasionally differ from those reported by county public health departments due to periodic lag times in reporting data to the state. We encourage people to check the official website and/or Facebook page of their respective county health department for any information that is not yet included in the state's daily updates.
- What constitutes a recovery? Click here for details
- Why are cases increasing? Click here for details
- CCHD addresses spike in COVID-19 cases
- Privacy laws and HIPAA: Click here for details
CDC: The federal Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) released data last month which emphasizes that people with contributing or underlying medical conditions are at much greater risk of dying from COVID-19. According to the CDC, an estimated 94% of all COVID-related deaths in the nation were people who had contributing medical conditions and diseases. The CDC report states: "For 6% of the deaths, COVID-19 was the only cause mentioned. For deaths with conditions or causes in addition to COVID-19, on average, there were 2.6 additional conditions or causes per death." The report states that the most common underlying medical conditions that contributed to COVID-related deaths include respiratory diseases such as pneumonia, asthma, and COPD; diabetes; hyptertensive diseases; and heart disease. Click here to learn more on the CDC website.
The CDC also recently released an update to their research into fatality rates associated with COVID-19. A summary of COVID-19 survival rates is shown below; the summary is one of five based on several scenarios. The CDC data and scenarios can be found here.
COVID-19 Survival Rates
- Age 0-19: 99.997%
- Age 20-49: 99.98%
- Age 50-69: 99.5%
- Age 70+: 94.6%
The CDC says the scenarios are intended to advance public health preparedness and planning, and are not predictions or estimates of the expected impact of COVID-19. The parameter values in each scenario will be updated and augmented over time, as the agency learns more about the epidemiology of COVID-19. The update from September 10th is based on data received by the CDC through August 8.
