Powder River County Public Health Nurse Darlynn Williams tells us that free COVID-19 at - home rapid tests are available through her office and the medical clinic, with more tests on the way through the federal testing program. Folks may also go online to https://www.covidtests.gov to order their own tests, with four tests available per household free of charge.
Here is a breakdown of confirmed COVID-19 cases by month for the year 2021:
202 total cases (compared to 104 in 2020).
January - 5 cases
February - 1 case
March - 8 cases, 1 hospitalization
April - 2 cases, 1 hospitalization
May - 2 cases, 1 hospitalization
June - 6 cases, 1 hospitalization, 2 deaths
July - 17 cases, 1 hospitalization
August - 20 cases, 3 hospitalizations
July – 20 cases, 1 hospitalization
August - 20 cases, 3 hospitalizations
September - 55 cases, 2 hospitalizations, 1 death
October - 55 cases, 4 hospitalizations, 1 death
November - 7 cases
December - 6 cases
January 2022 - 12 cases so far (Omicron confirmed this month)
Darlynn tells us that as of January 18, 2022, there have been 338 cases infected with Omicron variants detected in Montana. We now consider Omicron to be the dominant strain of COVID circulating in Montana. Last week, 48/48 (100%) specimens that were collected and sequenced were the Omicron variant.
CDC continues to recommend prevention strategies, including vaccination, masking, improving ventilation, testing, quarantine, and isolation, to slow transmission of SARS-CoV-2, including variants such as Omicron, to protect against severe illness and death from COVID-19.
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