Lake County opens to phase 2
At the beginning of this week Montana welcomed phase two in the reopening plan following COVID-19 closures, and Lake County is starting to see an increasing number of folks out in their communities.
As the county transitions out of the first phase, many local businesses are seeing more customers coming into their shop or restaurant, the roads are more consistently filled with cars and on a pleasant day recreational areas host a number of visitors. Polson Chamber of Commerce manager Carol Cunningham said she feels the city is steadily emerging out of the slow pace caused by the stay-at-home order.
“I think (businesses) are all wanting to hurry and get into phase 3 — things are a little slow, but they’re perking up,” Cunningham said regarding the member business partners of the chamber.
In the second phase of Gov. Steve Bullock’s plan one of the main changes include an increase in non-congregant group size, from 10 people up to 50 people. While groups of up to 50 can congregate, appropriate hygiene and social distancing protocols must be followed. This change directly affects large organizations or organized youth recreational activities, which now have an easier time operating while still using appropriate protocols.
On a local level, Cunningham said the Polson Chamber is working through scenarios and trying to come up with solutions on safe ways to host events this summer, such as parades and festivals. The chamber has not come to any conclusions regarding this, but the board is forming ideas on how to safely host larger events.
“We’ve had a lot of people disappointed,” Cunningham said, regarding having to cancel certain events already, but she hopes by working with the community they can find solutions and continue on with many gatherings this summer.
For most businesses, phase two means owners are able to increase their capacity up to 75% occupancy. Another large change includes the opening of public gyms, pools and hot tubs.
Although several local businesses are seeing a rise in customers and revenue over the last couple weeks as more people venture out of their houses, the tourism industry remains in hardship.
Cunningham said Blue Goose Aviation is one tourism-focused business that she knows is having a difficult time. She said the owner usually has 24 people registered to go on flights and right now he only has three people.
However in phase two the mandatory 14-day quarantine for out-of-state travelers is lifted, which Cunningham expects will encourage more visitors to travel to Lake County. She has received several calls from people in other states inquiring about when the policy would be lifted, and to her that means the tourism industry will pick up soon.
“We’re slowly waking up,” Cunningham said, adding that businesses have done what is necessary to stay alive in the current social climate. “Our businesses are strong, they try to do alternative ways of doing things.”
Although the state and county are following the phased reopening plan, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes will remain under a stay-at-home order first issued by the Tribal Council on Mar. 27. CSKT communications director Robert McDonald said the tribe has seen COVID-19 spread rampantly across many reservations throughout the U.S., and is taking its threat to the tribal community seriously.
“Our leadership’s extremely protective of our elder population and our vulnerable populations,” McDonald explained. “I think leadership from the start has sought to find a way to best protect our entire community…”
McDonald said through the The Lake County-CSKT Unified Command Center the tribe and the county have discussed each governing body’s plan to continue combatting the virus threat. The county and the tribe have differing approaches, but have been able to explain each other’s position on the matter.
“The feedback I got from the county is that they hadn’t always thought about it the way we were; about accounting for the depth of cultural resources that exist within each elder, the knowledge, the experience that we rely upon in so many ways,” McDonald said.
CSKT will also keep tribal land use closed to all people who are not tribal members or residents of the reservation. However, with the state lifting the mandatory 14-day quarantine for non-residents, the tribe is still concerned about the potential threat that could impose on the reservation.
“We’re concerned about every potential threat,” McDonald said. “The tribal government’s involvement with the unified command with Lake County has given us a great venue to share and discuss these concerns, find common ground, find where our approaches are different.”
As the rest of the state reopens, CSKT will continue to watch for community spread and stay aware of the ever changing situation.
“(Community spread) is a known turning point of concern,” McDonald said. “This is a popular area with folks who travel here and that’s why it’s important that each individual does what they can to protect themselves and their households and their family.”
AS OF Tuesday, there have been 523 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Montana. According to Lake County Public Health, 462 cases have recovered at this time, including all five Lake County cases.
1,130 Lake County residents have been tested for COVID-19. Of those, 1,117 have been negative and eight are currently pending.
Reporter Whitney England may be reached at 758-4419 or wengland@leaderadvertiser.com