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There continues to be no cases of COVID-19 in Carter County, but the number of positive cases in Montana is increasing exponentially every day. Monday, Montana saw a record number of positive cases in one day - 80. Carter County Public Health held an initial community snapshot COVID-19 drive-through testing event on Tuesday. There were 48 individuals who braved the wind to be tested. Anyone who tests positive will be notified by phone once results have been received. Since...
COVID-19 continues to be transmitted throughout Montana. As of Tuesday morning, there were 743 positive cases in Montana, but ZERO cases have been reported in Carter County. Also, the United States has now seen over 2.3 million cases of COVID-19, with 120,340 of those people dying. The symptoms of COVID-19 seem to be similar to that of a common cold or influenza. However, COVID-19 appears to be more severe. The symptoms of COVID-19 can include cough, fever or chills,...
COVID-19 is a respiratory illness caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. While this list does not include all possible symptoms of COVID-19, the most common symptoms include fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, a new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, runny nose, nausea or vomiting, and diarrhea. Carter County continues to have ZERO positive cases of COVID-19. Since testing began in March, there have been 614 positive cases in...
There continue to be zero cases of COVID-19 in Carter County. Since we started testing for COVID-19 in March, Montana has only had 554 positive cases, with surrounding states having significantly higher numbers. In Montana, there are currently only 51 active cases, and 485 people have already recovered from COVID-19. In South Dakota, there are 972 active cases, with 4483 recovered. North Dakota has 379 active cases, with 2450 already recovered. However, the majority of people...
COVID-19 continues to be transmitted throughout Montana and the world. However, there are zero positive cases of COVID-19 in Carter County. As of Tuesday afternoon, Montana has 523 positive cases of COVID-19, but 462 of those have already recovered. While everyone is asked to follow guidelines to slow the spread of COVID-19, one method that local public health departments use to slow the spread of COVID-19 and other transmittable diseases is through case investigations and...
There continue to be low positive case numbers of COVID-19 in Montana and zero in Carter County. As of Tuesday, there has not been a new case of COVID-19 in Montana for six days! The total positive cases in Montana is 479. On May 20th, Governor Bullock issued the directive outlining Phase 2 of re-opening Montana. Phase 2 begins on June 1st. Even though the directive allows for people to gather in groups of fifty, social distancing is still recommended whenever possible, even...
Even though the COVID-19 pandemic is a serious global threat, in reality, it comes down to communities to implement local mitigation strategies to slow the transmission of the virus. Mitigation is the action of reducing the severity or seriousness of something; in this case, mitigation is done to prevent or minimize catastrophic events caused by COVID-19. Since there are no vaccines or medications available to prevent or treat COVID-19, community mitigation is crucial right...
As of the afternoon of May 12th, there are zero cases of COVID-19 in Carter County and only 461 positive cases in Montana. Montana residents have done an excellent job of following the guidelines to slow the transmission. Also, public health departments in Montana have been phenomenal at slowing and stopping transmission by interviewing people found to be positive with COVID-19 and their contacts. Doing this ensures those folks are in isolation and quarantine, and that the...
COVID-19 is high on everyone’s radar, and there continues to be zero cases in Carter County. However, we have to remember there are other diseases out there which we must be aware of and protect ourselves, like tick-borne diseases. Because Spring is here, and so are ticks! I have already found five on my puppy... There are many species of ticks in Montana that are capable of transmitting a variety of viral, bacterial, and parasitic illnesses to humans and other mammals, like pet dogs. However, you can reduce your risk of b...
As of May 5th, Carter County has zero cases of COVID-19, and Montana has 456 cases; of those cases, 410 have already recovered! Since this is a new virus, information is frequently changing with new research and data. In the past week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated the list of possible symptoms associated with COVID-19. People with COVID-19 can have mild to severe symptoms, and symptoms may not appear for 14 days after exposure. People with...
As of Tuesday afternoon, there were no cases of COVD-19 in Carter County. Statewide, 437 people had tested positive for the virus that causes COVID-19. To prevent the spread and to keep people healthy, know how to protect yourself and others from being infected with the virus that causes COVID-19. Since there is not a vaccine available to prevent COVID-19, the best way to prevent illness is to avoid being exposed to the virus. This virus is thought to spread mainly...
There are no cases of COVID-19 in Carter County as of Wednesday, April 15. As suspected, last week Governor Bullock extended the end date of the executive directives to April 24, 2020. The Governor extended the end date of the Stay at Home Directive, the Directive providing mandatory quarantine for certain travelers, the restrictions for on-premises food and beverage businesses and to continue the closure of all non-residential public schools. To read Governor Bullock's...
As of Tuesday morning, there were ZERO reported COVID-19 cases in Carter County. In fact, there is only one case east of Billings at this time, which is in Roosevelt County. However, to keep COVID-19 out of Carter County, we need to continue to be disciplined and not get complacent. Please continue to promote and sustain the recommendations and restrictions of the local, state and federal public health departments. Public health asks all citizens to continue to follow social...
A heart attack is serious business, and time is of the essence. If you think you or someone you know is having symptoms of a heart attack, call 9-1-1 and seek help immediately! The most talked-about symptom of a heart attack is chest pain. On TV, chest pain is often portrayed as an excruciating, crushing pain in the center or left-of-center of the chest. However, chest pain may feel like pressure, squeezing, fullness, pain, or may even feel like heartburn or indigestion, and the pain may come and go. But many people who...
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is closely monitoring an outbreak of respiratory illness caused by a novel (new) coronavirus (named “2019-nCoV”) that was first detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China and continues to expand. Even though the 2019-nCoV represents a severe public health threat, the risk to individuals is dependent on exposure. For the general American public, who are unlikely to be exposed to this virus, the immediate health risk from the 2019-nCoV is considered LOW. Coronaviruses are...
New federal law raises the minimum age of sale of tobacco products from 18 to 21 years of age. On December 20th, 2019, the President signed legislation raising the federal minimum age of sale of tobacco products from 18 to 21 years of age. According to the Food and Drug Administration, tobacco (nicotine-containing products) is considered any product made or derived from tobacco and intended for human consumption and used in any tobacco-containing device including “hookah, e-cigarettes (vapes), dissolvables, smokeless t...
Influenza has not made its way to Carter County yet, but don’t wait until it’s too late! The flu vaccine is still available at Dahl Memorial clinic any time during regular business hours (8 a.m. - 5 p.m.) Raquel Williams will be staying until 6 p.m. on Thursday, January 9th and Friday, January 10th to give flu shots. There have already been over 780 cases of influenza reported in Montana alone this season. Influenza symptoms usually come on suddenly and consist of severe body or muscle aches, extreme fatigue, cough, sore thr...
by Raquel Williams, RN Sorry about the hiatus, life had gotten a little too hectic with college, work and Tegan’s schedule. However, now that I have moved into the Carter County Public Health department, I plan to reach out to the people of this county more frequently. I developed this column a couple of years ago to provide health education to the public, as I am passionate about educating others and feel getting information out to citizens is essential. However, I am not going to talk about health promotion or disease p...
Depression is a common but serious mood disorder. It affects over 19 million teens and adults in the United States! Depression can cause severe symptoms that affect how you think, feel, and handle daily activities. However, depression and other mental health illnesses often have a negative stigma attached to them. Those with mental health illnesses are often afraid to talk to others about their illness because they fear you may view them differently, be afraid of them, or distance yourself from them. This can lead people...
Stress… We all experience it; the amount of stress varies day to day; from situation to situation. Stress comes in different forms; the stress of planning a wedding is very different than the stress of losing a home, but you may experience similar symptoms. Some stress is beneficial; it helps you develop skills to deal with possible threatening situations in life. However, too much stress can have adverse health effects on you. Stress is not helpful when it prevents you from taking care of yourself and your family. You can p...
