Health officials confirm sixth death at care facility

A sixth person has died as a result of a recent COVID-19 outbreak at a long-term care facility in Whitefish, according to health officials.

The Flathead City-County Health Department on Friday confirmed the death noting that the long-term facility continues to be a “major outbreak” with more than 50% of residents having tested positive for the virus since August.

The health department didn’t release the name of the facility, but an administrator with Whitefish Care and Rehabilitation Center recently confirmed an outbreak at the center.

The health department, in a release, said that the outbreak at the facility between Aug. 9 and Sept. 13 has had a 13% fatality rate.

The total number of COVID-19 related deaths in Flathead County now totals nine.

The cumulative number of cases of the virus is about 680 with 93 active cases. There have been more than 500 recoveries, according to the health department.

There are currently 11 hospitalizations in Flathead County with 10 of those residents of the county.

The health department is monitoring 437 individuals, which includes cases and contacts.

Flathead remains the fourth highest county in the state for total number of confirmed cases. Yellowstone County has more than 2,300, followed by Gallatin County with more than 1,100, and Big Horn County has about 700.

Montana now has a total of more than 8,000 confirmed cases of the virus, according to the state, with more than 6,00 patients recovered. There are roughly 2,000 active cases.

The total number of deaths in the state is 118.