Bullock expands food benefits; expects to extend stay-at-home order
FILE - In this Aug. 7, 2019, file photo, Montana Gov. Steve Bullock speaks at the National Press Club in Washington. Bullock's office warned Friday, March 20, 2020, that Montana could face extended closures of public gathering places in the push to slow the spread of the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
Gov. Steve Bullock provided an update on Montana’s COVID-19 situation and announced new measures to assist Montanans with food benefits during a press call on Friday.
Bullock said he expects to extend the statewide stay-at-home directive, which began on March 28 and is currently set to expire on April 10. He said Montanans should expect an announcement early next week.
The governor said directives will be extended in “two-week chunks” as his office continues to assess the situation. He assured any extension would not be like Virginia, which earlier this week extended its shelter-in-place order until June 10.
“I, like everybody else in Montana, would like to get back to a sense of normalcy as soon as possible,” Bullock said.
Bullock also announced the state was loosening some regulations on food-assistance programs during the pandemic, and he will double the supply of food commodities coming from the federal government for places like food banks and senior centers.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will waive its initial interview requirements, and for those whose assistance is set to expire, the state will automatically renew their benefits for a year. A total of 52,000 Montana families will also receive maximum food assistance through the SNAP program for at least the next two months.
The governor said new mothers will receive additional support over the phone to apply for the Women, Infants and Children program, while the state will allow substitutes for certain items that are sold out at grocery stores. As an example, Bullock said if a store was sold out of 2% milk, a family could now use its WIC benefits on a different kind of milk.
Bullock told a reporter Montana would not push back the June 2 primary election, and said he believed all Montana counties had chosen to move to all-mail ballots for the primary. Bullock gave counties the option to move to an all-mail election in a March 25 directive.
Montana had 243 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of Friday morning, with five reported deaths. Gallatin County has the most confirmed cases in the state with 93, while Flathead County has 18 cases.
Bullock said 10% of Montanans who have tested positive for the virus work in a health-care setting.
Reporter Colin Gaiser may be reached at cgaiser@dailyinterlake.com