Montana reports 25 new cases; 4 in Flathead

Montana reported 25 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, matching the state’s highest daily total since March 28.

Four new cases were confirmed in Flathead County: two women in their 70s, a woman in her 60s and a man in his 70s. The county had eight active cases as of Thursday morning.

Lake County added one new case, a man in his 30s, raising its total of active cases to five.

Other counties reporting new COVID-19 cases were Big Horn, Gallatin, Yellowstone, Carbon, Fergus, Missoula, Richland and Valley counties.

There were 90 active cases in the state Thursday morning, including eight hospitalizations. The state reports that 1,355 people were tested on Wednesday.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death. The vast majority of people recover.

Gov. Steve Bullock at a press conference Wednesday said some of the recent rise in cases can be attributed to the state doing a more effective job of identifying clusters and performing contact tracing.

The state performed 11,229 tests from June 6-12, up from 7,740 tests in the week between May 30 and June 5.

Bullock noted that Montana has the lowest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths per capita in the Lower 48.