Active COVID-19 cases down in county as 13th death announced

Lake County Public Health reported 76 new confirmed COVID-19 cases during the week of Nov. 24-30, with one fatality — the county’s 13th — being announced Nov. 24.

The lone death for the week was that of a man in his 80s. It was the seventh death announced in November, following five in October. Additional details on the deaths are being withheld to protect the privacy of patients and their families.

As of Tuesday morning, there were 1,259 confirmed cases in the county since the pandemic began, though active cases were down to 170, from 233 during the previous week. Total hospitalizations rose to 78 from 69, and current hospitalizations rose by one to 11.

State data on cases in the county’s schools, last updated Nov. 27, report an increase of 15 confirmed cases. That includes Salish Kootenai College, which added one new case, for a total of 10, since the previous update on Nov. 18.

No schools experienced a major spike in new cases, with the exception of KW Harvey Elementary in Ronan. Six new cases were reported there, bringing the school’s total to 17. That’s by far the most in the county. Eleven confirmed cases have been reported at Charlo High School, and Ronan Middle School has had 10.

The entire Polson School District has seen 21 confirmed cases, with seven at the high school and five at the middle school. The district website on Tuesday morning reported seven active cases, including one staff member, resulting in 133 students and six staff members currently being on quarantine.

A two-week period of remote learning only in the Arlee School District is set to end this week, with students returning to classrooms Monday.

The Ronan School District recently began providing weekly updates on its website. The most recent data, provided Nov. 25, reports 61 students and six staff members on quarantine.

Statewide, Montana had reported 63,205 confirmed cases and 698 deaths as of Tuesday morning. Data provided at the Department of Health and Human Services website show 154 active cases in Lake County, with 2,095 to the north in Flathead County, 1,381 to the south in Missoula County and 1,346 a bit to the east in Lewis and Clark County — three of the state’s hot spots.

Nationally, 268,000 Americans have died due to covid-related illnesses, according to The Washington Post’s coronavirus tracker.