Officials confirm new COVID-19 case in county

A second Lincoln County resident has tested positive for the novel coronavirus after coming into contact with an out-of-town visitor.

Health department officials announced the positive test July 3. The most recent patient is a man in his 40s, said Jennifer McCully, county public health manager.

The man underwent testing after the person he came into close contact with started showing symptoms related to COVID-19, officials said. Officials would only say that the visitor came from outside of Montana. The announcement brings the number of active cases in Lincoln County up to two. Officials previously confirmed June 27 that another man caught the coronavirus after coming into close contact with a visitor from out of town.

McCully said the two cases are not connected.

Health officials announced July 1 that a third individual — a man traveling through the county — had tested positive as well. That man, in his 30s, had “very limited contact” with county residents, officials wrote in a press release.

When an individual tests positive for the novel coronavirus, health officials perform an investigation, contacting anyone the patient may have come into close proximity with. For the case announced June 27, officials have completed that investigation, McCully said last week.

Contact tracing for the case announced July 3 remains ongoing, according to McCully. Still, officials said that anyone who has not received a call from health department staff should know that they are not considered a “direct contact” with the patient.

The most recent case brings the county’s total to nine. Six people have recovered from the coronavirus, which causes the disease known as COVID-19, but Lincoln County suffered the state’s first related fatality. A Bull Lake man in his 70s succumbed to complications from the illness in March.

Those suffering from the coronavirus are asked to self-isolate until they test negative for the infection twice in a 24-hour period, McCully said.

Residents with questions or interest in getting tested for the novel coronavirus are encouraged to call the county’s hotline at 406-293-6295. The phone line is staffed during business hours, Monday through Friday.