HELENA, Mont. (NMB) – On a press call Friday morning, Governor Steve Bullock provided an update on the state’s COVID-19 response and announced new food security efforts.
Bullock says the state will be doubling its supply of food commodities from the federal government that will be provided at no cost, which will help provide emergency relief to food pantries, food banks, tribal partners and senior centers.
“We’ll also be waiving the SNAP one-on-one interview requirements and automatically renewing SNAP benefits for 12 months for any Montanan whose benefits are set to expire during the emergency.”
As for the stay-at-home and school closure orders that are set to expire on April 10th, Bullock anticipates that they will be extended another two weeks. However, he said he has not yet considered shutting down public schools for the rest of the academic year.
Bullock says about 10 percent of people that have tested positive for COVID-19 in Montana are health care workers.
Bullock added that the state currently has the capacity to run 1,500 more COVID-19 tests and expects to receive 15 new test machines from Abbott in the near future. Those machines, which can detect COVID-19 cases in 15 minutes, will not go to the State Public Health Lab in Helena and will instead be given to local hospitals and hot spots throughout the state.
