MISSOULA — A new COVID-19 reporting system instituted earlier this week by the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPPHS) has resulted in some changes to Missoula County's COVID-19 numbers.
Data from the Missoula City-County Health Department (MCCHD) shows 770 new and 2,849 active cases on Wednesday. However, MCCHD notes the new system caused some initial "delays in gathering and displaying the data" resulting in the case numbers being reported from the weekend being shown as new cases in Wednesday's data count.
"While the case catch-up was large, so was the active case reconciliation we were able to do as a result, leading to lower overall active case numbers despite the large number of new cases," MCCHD noted in a statement.
Twenty-six of the new cases and 165 of the active cases — which is down from the 220 reported Tuesday — are associated with the University of Montana.
A total of 22,741 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in Missoula County including 19,694 recoveries and 198 deaths. There are 49 COVID-19 related hospitalizations being reported — up one since Tuesday — including 29 county residents.
The county's COVID-19 test positivity rate has risen from 29.87% to 29.96% while the seven-day case average per 100,000 people has jumped from 147 on Tuesday to 212. MCCHD previously noted that numbers above 25 are "highly concerning."
The Montana COVID-19 state tracking map shows 75,132 Missoula County residents are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 representing 65% of the eligible population.
The latest Missoula County COVID-19 vaccine information can be found online at https://www.missoulainfo.com/ or by calling 406-258-4636.