UPDATE
There has not been a 31st COVID-19 related death confirmed in Flathead County as originally reported on Monday morning.
Flathead City-County Health Department Public Information Officer Malia Freeman said in an email to MTN News that there was an error in updating the county's COVID-19 online dashboard.
"Note: As of 11/23/20, there are only 30 deaths in Flathead County. This error will be corrected by DPHHS in tomorrow's update." a message on the website now reads.
(first report)
A 31st COVID-19 related death is being reported in Flathead County. The Flathead City-County Health Department (FCCHD) noted the death in a Monday morning update.
Additionally, the number of COVID-19 cases in the county has risen to 6,072. The number of active cases now stands at 2,303. There have been 3,738 recoveries and 31 COVID-19 related deaths, according to FCCHD.
Three of the COVID-19 related deaths were reported by health officials on Friday.
FCCHD Interim Health Officer Tamalee St James Robinson notes that 1,011 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed between Nov. 15 and Nov. 21.
“The influx of new cases in the past several weeks is alarming,” said Robinson. “We are all experiencing COVID-19 fatigue and many of us miss our loved ones, but gathering with non-household members may contribute to widespread transmission of COVID-19,” Robinson said. “This virus isn’t going away anytime soon, and we need to remain diligent in our efforts to mitigate the spread,” she added.
FCCHD is also advising against events involving groups greater than 25 people.
“It is very difficult for event sponsors to maintain social distancing between attendees throughout an entire event,” Robinson noted in a statement. “Although written social distancing and masking plans can be well-thought out, it’s been difficult to enforce those plans. We’ve seen multiple occurrences where the plan is good but the execution of the plan is poor,” she continued.