County officials prepare plan for life after pandemic restrictions

Lincoln County’s top elected officials were ready and waiting for Gov. Steve Bullock to give the word that restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic were lifting.

Just hours before the governor laid out a roadmap for the end of the statewide stay-at-home directive and business closures April 22, members of the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners revealed they were in the final stages of developing a local plan for returning to normalcy.

The document, prepared by the county health department, was crafted in coordination with Dr. Brad Black, the county health officer, officials said.

“I think we need to be ready to roll out, is what I told [Black],” said County Commissioner Jerry Bennett (D-2) during a meeting of the board.

Bullock’s plan gives leeway to local jurisdictions to impose a more restrictive roadmap to normalcy, but gives shops and other retail outlets permission to reopen April 27. Churches and other places of worship can resume activities on April 26.

Both must abide by social distancing regulations. Bullock’s plan continues to warn against gatherings of more than 10 people in close quarters.

Restaurants, bars, breweries, distilleries and casinos can resume operations May 4 as long as they can provide for social distancing and follow reduced capacity protocols. Outdoor recreational facilities can potentially open so long as employees can properly sanitize equipment and infrastructure. Organized youth activities can begin again while following social distancing rules.

Gyms, pools and hot tubs will remain closed as well as entertainment venues like theaters, concert halls and bowling alleys. Restrictions remained in place for senior and assisted living facilities.

Bennett indicated the county’s plan would mirror the restrictions recommended in the days before Bullock shuttered schools, restaurants and campgrounds to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

In a press release issued shortly after Bullock’s news conference, county officials announced that the health board would meet April 23, after The Western News’ print deadline, to discuss local measures.

Officials may “continue to enact guidelines that are more restrictive than state guidelines,” the release said.

County Commissioner Mark Peck (D-1) said access to testing would play a critical role in how soon local businesses could begin operating again. He indicated he had heard grumblings from local shop owners who had been forced to close while big box retailers like Wal Mart could stay open while serving hundreds of customers at a time.

“The key to it all is testing,” he said. “I know all the salon folks I’ve talked to are open to being tested once a month. They’re kind of the canaries in the mine. Them and [supermarket] people.”

Peck said officials already had tested employees at Rosauers Supermarkets. There were no positive test results, he said, calling that news “fantastic.”

He expressed hope that the county would soon have access to rapid test kits, meaning testing would no longer be limited to labs.

“As long as we’re testing people, it will tell us when it’s coming back,” Peck said of the coronavirus.

Bullock’s roadmap allows for public schools to reopen in a limited capacity by May 7. In an April 17 interview, Superintendent Craig Barringer of Libby Public School District said administrators are crafting a plan to resume curtailed classroom teaching.

A limited reopening likely would be targeted toward students struggling to learn independently, he said.

“One thing we know is that we will not have 1,200 kids in our buildings,” Barringer said. “We would like, to once a week, touch base with those kids struggling with their work and with those parents struggling to get kids to do the work.”

Any plan would require input and approval from the school board, he said.

“If we can bring them back at all, we will do it in small groups and for short periods of time and really do it just to help where help is needed,” Barringer said.