By Josh Margolis
HAVRE, Mont. (NMB) – Hill County Health Officer Kim Larson has released a draft order that will be implemented next Thursday if Hill County reports more than 58 COVID-19 cases from October 26th-November 1st.
The baseline Larson has set is based on the 50 new cases per day per 100,000 people benchmark used by organizations such as the CDC to assess where new restrictions may need to be implemented to curb COVID-19 spread. Yellowstone County recently used the same metric when deciding whether to implement restrictions.
The order states that all Restaurants/Bars/Distilleries/Breweries/Casinos/Coffee Houses/Special Licensees will be limited to 50 percent capacity and must close for inside business by 12:30 AM*. Only drive-thru and delivery for food service would be able to continue past 12:30 AM.
The other action in the order is limiting social gatherings, both indoors and outdoors, to no more than 25 people, regardless of the ability to social distance.
Exceptions apply to:
- Houses of worship, which will be subject to 75 percent capacity and must social distance and comply with the mask directive
- Food service establishments that serve populations that depend on them as one of its sole sources of food (ex: University dining, school cafeterias, hospital and care facilities, hotel room service, and “facilities necessary for the response to the emergency”), which may continue to operate with necessary-only personnel
- Childcare facilities
- Schools and school activities
The order would take effect at 5PM on November 4th and remain in place for one month if the benchmark is reached.
This draft order comes as Hill County continues to see a surge in COVID-19 case growth.
As of Sunday, 547 of the 740 COVID-19 cases and 19 of the 22 COVID-19 related deaths in Hill County have been reported since October 1st.
*The 12:30 AM closing time is included for Phase 2 of the Governor’s Directives, but was reiterated in the Health Officer Order
