County implements 14-day quarantine order

Lake County Commissioners are taking steps to help implement Governor Steve Bullock’s self-quarantine directive. The directive requires “Any person coming to Montana from another state or country for a non-work-related purpose must immediately self-quarantine for 14 days.”

“People have to realize they are putting others in danger,” Commissioner Dave Stipe explained.

For clarification, Stipe said, “This is not for people bouncing around between counties,” such as Lake County residents working, buying groceries, or visiting in neighboring Flathead, Missoula or Sanders counties. It is especially focused, he said, on people returning or moving here from areas where high levels of the COVID-19 virus exist. He noted that many Montanans spend the winter elsewhere and return to Lake County for summer.

“A lot of our cases here have been related to that,” he said.

The self-quarantine should include even those entering Lake County from areas in Montana such as Bozeman, Stipe said, which has over 140 confirmed cases.

He gave and example, such as a county employee who visited a relative in Nebraska and then needed to self-quarantine for 14 days before returning to work.

The governor’s stay-at-home directive and social distancing recommendations also remain in place though April 24. Bullock was expected to start loosening the order after this week.

The self-quarantine directive includes the following:

• Any person coming to Montana from another state or country for a non-work-related purpose must immediately self-quarantine for 14 days. If a person will be present in Montana for fewer than 14 days, that person must self-quarantine for the duration of the visit.

• Any person who has already arrived in Montana from another state or country for a non-work related purpose before the date of this Directive must immediately self-quarantine for the remainder of a 14-day period beginning on the date of their arrival in Montana, or until their departure from Montana—whichever is sooner.

• The Montana Department of Commerce will advise persons listing hotels, rental properties, or other short-term rentals in Montana—including but not limited to listings on such services as Airbnb, VRBO, HomeAway, and related services—to include notice of the mandatory quarantine for travelers from another state or country.

• These quarantine restrictions do not apply in the following circumstances: to persons traveling through Montana en route to another destination; or to public health, public safety, or healthcare workers

• These quarantine restrictions shall apply to Montana residents and non-residents alike.