BILLINGS — Yellowstone County health officials reported the 171st COVID-19 related death on Tuesday.
RiverStone Health said in a press release that on Jan. 10 a man in his 80s died at a Billings hospital.
Yellowstone County has lost 171 residents to the pandemic, including six people who have succumbed in 2021, county health officials said.
“The pandemic continues to take a terrible toll on our community,” said John Felton, Yellowstone County public health officer and RiverStone Health CEO. “I offer sincere condolences to the family and friends of this latest victim of COVID-19.”
On Tuesday, 63 COVID-19 patients were in Billings Clinic or St. Vincent Healthcare, and 10 of those patients required ventilators.
RiverStone Health records indicate that at least 14,591 Yellowstone County residents have tested positive for the virus that causes COVID-19.
Vaccination against the virus that causes COVID-19 is underway for the 1A priority group of healthcare workers, first responders, and residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities in Yellowstone County.
When additional vaccine supplies are received from the federal government, Yellowstone County providers will start vaccinating the Montana 1B priority group, which includes people over 70, younger people with certain health conditions, and Native Americans and other people of color who are at higher risk for serious illness. Yellowstone County doesn’t yet have supplies to begin vaccinating people in the 1B priority group.
Information on the pandemic is updated regularly online at covid.riverstonehealth.org.