SHELBY — Toole County civic leaders in Shelby plan to release more information on Friday about COVID-19 cases in their community.
The unified statement will come from city and county leaders along with hospital and nursing home officials.
Three of Montana's five confirmed COVID-19 deaths have been in Toole County; as of Thursday morning, Toole County has reported six confirmed cases of COVID-19.
"We know this virus is deadly and now that reality has hit home in a terrible, tragic way. You as a community need to come together and stop this by following guidance provided. We are working diligently around the clock to stop the spread and keep our community informed," TCHD said in a news release.
According to the DPHHS website, the six confirmed COVID-19 cases in Toole County are: female between ages of 10-19; female between 40-49; male and female between 79-79; female between 89-89; female between 90-99. The health department has not released any other information about the most recent death; we will update you as we get more information.
We have received several unconfirmed reports that the three deaths were residents of an assisted living facility or nursing home, but TCHD officials have so far declined to confirm or deny the reports.
Shelby mayor Gary McDermott says he was in contact with county health department leaders on Thursday morning. He stressed that a unified voice was key when it comes to communication with the public and addressing rumors during a pandemic.
“It's critical that we are full disclosure as much as legally possible to keep the public informed and keep rumors down,” he said. “I visited just briefly and said it's important to get some accurate information out to the media."
We will update you as we get more details.