Gov. Steve Bullock is holding a Tuesday press conference to provide an update on Montana's efforts to fight the COVID-19 outbreak.
Gov. Bullock’s directives closing public schools and requiring people to stay home -- except for essential activities -- were extended until April 24 last week.
You can watch the governor's press conference on KPAX and KAJ. A live stream of the press conference is available here .
The Montana Response COVID-19 tracking map showed there were 399 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of Tuesday morning. There have been seven COVID-19 related deaths reported in the Treasure State, including one in Missoula County and one in Flathead County .
Local health officials are reporting 32 COVID-19 cases in Missoula County. Additionally, 155 "close contacts" are self quarantining.
The following directives issued by Gov. Bullock remain in effect through April 24:
- Closing all non-residential public schools in Montana. Previous Directive issued March 15 and previously extended through April 10 .
- Closing certain on-premises dining and beverage businesses while expanding and encouraging delivery, takeout, and drive-up options. Previous Directive issued March 24 .
- Extending the stay at home Directive except for certain essential activities, temporarily closing non-essential businesses, provided social distancing requirements, and limited non-essential travel. Previous Directive issued March 26 .
- Limiting evictions, foreclosures, and disconnections for the duration of the Stay at Home Directive. Previous Directive issued March 30 .
- Requiring a 14-day self-quarantine for individuals arriving in Montana for non-work-related travel. Previous Directive issued March 30 , which followed Governor Bullock’s travel advisory on March 19 .
Other Directives issued or actions taken in response to the statewide emergency do not need to be extended as they will stay in effect for the duration of the emergency or even longer. Those actions include:
designating childcare facilities as essential businesses
, bolstering
food security for Montana families
, expanding telemedicine services to Medicaid patients, issuing
emergency rules to make unemployment benefits accessible
to workers laid off due to COVID-19,
emergency loans for small businesses
through the Small Business Administration, and calling for the
census deadline to be extended
until at least Sept. 30.
