Local health order rescinded

Lincoln County’s top doctor rescinded his pandemic-related health order last week.

The move came as Gov. Greg Gianforte adjusts the state’s approach to the coronavirus. Gianforte, who was critical of his predecessor’s handling of the crisis on the campaign trail, rescinded two of former Gov. Steve Bullock’s coronavirus-related executive orders on Jan 13.

The changes allow for bars, restaurants, casinos, breweries, distilleries and other businesses to resume normal operating hours and seating capacities. He also lifted restrictions on social gatherings.

Still, Gianforte kept the mask mandate in place in his new directive, which went into effect Jan. 15.

In Lincoln County, Health Officer Dr. Brad Black signed a notice of rescission for his local health order on Jan. 14. The notice points out that Black’s order — first issued in July — was meant to echo Bullock’s efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

The local order went further than Bullock’s only in that it did away with a threshold of four active cases for its tenets to be in effect.

Black announced earlier this year that his order would expire with Bullock’s directives. That decision was made after Black unsuccessfully sought backing from the county health board for an updated order in December. At the time, Black said he felt an order without buy-in from local officials would prove ineffective.

Montana state code gives health officers both autonomy and wide latitude to act during medical emergencies like a pandemic. The health board, for example, did not endorse his July order.

“I don’t need the health board — I want the health board’s support,” Black said during a December meeting. “I want the health board’s support in saying [to me], ‘We trust you to make good decisions that are good for the community related to COVID-19,’ and I haven’t heard it yet.”

While board members offered varying degrees of support — from mealy-mouthed to ringing — for Black personally, they did not vote on his proposed order.

In a statement issued earlier this month, Black wrote that the lifting of mandates did not signal the end of the pandemic. Residents would still need to take precautions to keep the coronavirus from spreading even as restrictions loosened.

“It remains important to wear masks in indoor spaces where the public can gather, limit group sizes to ensure social distancing and most importantly respect the safety and well-being of our families, friends and other community members,” he wrote. “It is hoped that we will continue to keep the spread of the coronavirus as limited as possible and avoid need for any mandates in the future.”