(UPDATE: 8:52 a.m. - Oct. 16, 2020)
KALISPELL - Flathead County Health Board members voted 5-3 on Thursday against an order to immediately limit event size in Flathead County to 500 people.
If approved, the order would have been in effect through Dec. 31.
Heath board officials removed an agenda item that would have tightened restrictions on restaurants and bars before the meeting started.
If approved, those restrictions would have reduced capacity to bars, restaurants and churches to 25%, and force any business that sells alcohol to close by 10 p.m.
The board voted in favor to further discussions on mitigating COVID-19 options in the community and come up with a press release to review at a later date.
“What are some strategies that we want to try to move forward with? This is not a decision that the Health Officer is going to make on their own, we need to engage the board in this discussion and try to figure out what the best mitigation strategies are for our communities,” said Flathead County Public Health Officer Tamalee Robinson.
Close to 50 community residents voiced concerns for and against new restrictions during the meeting. More than 250 residents submitted written comment.
(Second report: 3:58 p.m. - Oct. 15, 2020
KALISPELL - Flathead County Health Board members voted 5-3 on Thursday against an order to immediately limit event size in Flathead County to 500 people.
Heath board officials removed an agenda item that would have tightened restrictions on restaurants and bars before the meeting started.
If approved, those restrictions would have reduced capacity to bars, restaurants and churches to 25%, and force any business that sells alcohol to close by 10 p.m.
The board voted in favor to further discussions on mitigating COVID-19 options in the community and come up with a press release to review.
(first report: 1:11 p.m. - Oct. 15, 2020)
The Flathead County Board of Health is discussing a proposal for increased restrictions on social gatherings as new COVID-19 cases continue to rise.
Proposed tighter restrictions on bars and restaurants were removed from the agenda at the beginning of the meeting.
Nearly 50 people lined up to speak at the meeting and 200 comments were submitted.
Restrictions would go into place if the number of new cases is at an average of 50 per day per 100,000 residents for the week of Oct. 26-Nov. 1, equaling out to 375 new COVID-19 cases per week in Flathead County.
The new restrictions would be in place for one month from the initiation of the order.
On the health board agenda, county health officials said more people have died from COVID-19 in Flathead County over the past seven months than the last four years of influenza-related deaths in the county combined.
County health officials said at least 14 bars and restaurants have experienced COVID-19 outbreaks since the beginning of September.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
