By Josh Margolis
HAVRE, Mont. (NMB) – Montana Governor Greg Gianforte spoke by phone with New Media Broadcasters on Friday to discuss a wide variety of issues.
When it comes to COVID-19, Gianforte said the state is transitioning to approaching the virus from an endemic standpoint, similar to how they deal with viruses such as influenza, measles and smallpox.
“Working with our medical staff, we all concluded that with the precipitous drop in hospitalizations, the number of infections going way down, and no variants of concern on the horizon, it was time to move away from a pandemic approach to an endemic approach.”
However, Gianforte says the state will remain “nimble” and ready to deploy additional resources if cases spike.
“So now, rather than max vax clinics, you’re going to get the COVID vaccine from your doctor or the local pharmacy. The state is going to get out of the business of distributing PPE that’s going to come through standard medical supply channels. Because the emergency is over and we can go back to normal. Now, we’re going to stay nimble, we’re going to monitor it. Probably not every day, but certainly weekly. And if there is a crunch somewhere, we’ll tighten things back up again. But we’re not going to go back to the unreasonable mandates that just didn’t work. We’re going to have to learn to live with this. People with underlying conditions should continue to take necessary precautions to protect their health. But Montanans are certainly smart enough to do that.”
During the interview, other topics that were covered included Keystone XL, the economy, the federal government’s 30 by 30 initiative, and agriculture.
The entire interview can be heard below:
