Cascade County City-County Health Department was notified April 8 of the 12th positive case in the county.

This case is a male in his 30s, according to CCHD.

“As always, the individual is isolated and the Health Department is performing contact tracing. Anyone who comes up in our investigation as having been exposed will be contacted,” according to CCHD. “We are happy to report that of our (now) twelve cases, seven have recovered.”

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As of April 8, there are 332 confirmed positive cases across Montana. Of those, an estimated 135 have recovered, 31 have been hospitalized and six have died, according to the state.

In the April 8 updated from CCHD, county health officer Trisha Gardner said the agency has received a number of questions regarding testing.

[The state’s interactive map of COVID-19 cases and related demographics is here]

“Because of differences in reporting between commercial labs and the State lab, we do not have access to real-time numbers of specimens being run. As a result, we only report positive cases to the community, as we receive notice of them—not total numbers of tests,” Gardner said.

She said CCHD is in daily communication with healthcare partners, and batches of specimens are being sent daily.

“Because of this, we know that our local healthcare facilities have performed over a thousand tests since mid-March. The number of positive cases is not a reflection of how many tests are being performed,” Gardner said. “Again, we do not have access to real-time numbers of specimens being run for testing. Some labs get results back to us within a few days; with some, there is a longer wait time. Therefore, the number we could give you on a daily basis would not be accurate. Due to this fact, CCHD will only report positive cases to the community.”

Gov. Steve Bullock was asked about testing in his April 7 briefing and said “epidemiologists have pointed out that Gallatin doesn’t have higher numbers because of over-testing, nor does Cascade County have lower numbers as a result of under-testing.”

CCHD said testing is continuing to happen locally and that the department supports the latest DPHHS recommendation, which states, “DPHHS strongly encourages health care providers to test suspected COVID-19 patients. Testing to identify infected individuals allows local and state public health professionals to conduct follow-up with cases and contacts to prevent further spread.”

CCHD and local healthcare providers ask that anyone experiencing COVID-19 like symptoms to call their provider or a hotline before going to a facility for testing.

Those phone numbers and guidelines are available on the CCHD website.

Total cases in Montana

According to the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services there are now 332 cases of COVID-19 across the state. One of those cases is counted in Montana though the woman was tested and remains in Maryland.

There have been six deaths from the virus, according to DPHHS.

So far, according to DPHHS, a total of 7,398 tests have been completed as of April 8.

A state tracking map shows the confirmed cases are as follows by county:

• Cascade County: 12 cases
• Gallatin County: 120 cases
• Yellowstone County: 48 cases
• Flathead County: 31 cases
• Missoula County: 25 cases
• Lewis and Clark County: 16 cases
• Toole County: 17 cases
• Silver Bow County: 11 cases
• Madison County: 8 cases
• Lincoln County: 7 cases
• Park County: 7 cases
• Lake County: 5 cases
• Broadwater County: 4 cases
• Deer Lodge County: 3 cases
• Carbon County: 3 cases
• Jefferson County: 2 cases
• Ravalli County: 3 cases
• Richland County: 2 cases
• Roosevelt County: 2 cases
• Hill County: 1 case
• Meagher County: 1 case
• Liberty County: 1 case
• Musselshell County: 1 case
• Beaverhead County: 1 case
• Glacier County: 2 cases