County confirms new coronavirus case

A local man in his 70s tested positive for the novel coronavirus, Lincoln County Health Department officials announced Saturday.

It’s the first new confirmed coronavirus case in the county since April 5, officials said. Between March and April, seven area residents contracted the illness, which causes COVID-19.

One man, a Bull Lake resident who had traveled out of state, succumbed to complications from the disease, marking the state’s first COVID-19 related death. Most people do recover from the disease.

With the most recent case, officials are conducting contact tracing. Health officials sought to remind the public that if they have not been contacted by the department, they “are not considered a direct contact.”

Residents with questions regarding COVID-19 are encouraged to call the county’s hotline at 406-293-6295, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.