Missoula County Considering how to Respond to Phase 2 Opening

The jury is still out as to how Missoula County Health Department officials will respond to Governor Steve Bullock’s planned Phase 2 openings detailed during his Tuesday press conference in Helena.

COVID 19 Incident Commander Cindy Farr said, surprisingly, that the Governor’s office does not consult the counties before issuing their proclamations about reopening the state.

“The governor’s Phase 2 plan starts on June 1^st,” said Farr. “It will allow some relaxing of social distancing measures and businesses, increased group sizes when social distancing cannot be maintained, and allow for more businesses to be opened. It also phases out the travelers quarantine. For those of you asking what this means for Missoula and if there will be any changes, the answer is it’s too soon to tell. We will update you on this by May 28^th so that you know what to expect as of June 1.”

Farr referenced the increased incidence of COVID cases in nearby Ravalli County.

“Ravalli County now has eight active cases, just one case fewer than what we had at the start of Phase 1,” she said. “All of these cases have come up in the last five days. As we’ve mentioned before, our county is tightly connected to Ravalli County due to the essential shopping, work and healthcare. The next two weeks will be really informative. Hopefully, the cases will stay down in Missoula and surrounding counties won’t see any uptick. We’ll need to watch to ensure that we don’t set ourselves up for another uptick in cases.”

Farr also promoted the mobile clinic which will be traveling on Thursday.

“We are doing our off-site clinics,” she said. “Tomorrow we’re going to Lolo in the morning and Frenchtown in the afternoon, so if you live in those areas and you’re having any symptoms related to COVID 19, even if they are mild symptoms. Please call today at 258-INFO, or 258- 4636 and select option number two to speak to a nurse and get that appointment scheduled.”

Governor Bullock laid out his plans for Phase 2 on Tuesday, that will go into effect on June 1.