Cascade County added 93 new COVID-19 cases over the last week, bringing the cumulative total to 16,958, according to the weekly update from the City-County Health Department on Dec. 15.

There were four new COVID-19 related deaths in the county, bringing the county’s total to 279, according to CCHD.

The case rate this week is 16.3 per 100,000, the lowest rate since early July in the county, according to CCHD.

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The positivity rate is 7.7 percent, up slightly since last week’s 7.5 percent, but still among the lowest rates since July.

As of Dec. 13, there 84,165 total doses of the vaccine administered in the county, and 36,008, or 47 percent of the eligible population, have been fully vaccinated.

Cascade County COVID numbers stay low this week

A person is considered fully vaccinated when they have the full initial series of the vaccine, which is two doses for Pfizer and Moderna and one does for Johnson and Johnson.

There were 21 new breakthrough cases over the last week, bringing the total since February to 1,327, according to CCHD.

Cascade County COVID numbers continue to decline, lowest case rate since the summer

A breakthrough case is when a fully vaccinated person tests positive for COVID.

As of Dec. 13, there were 15 people hospitalized with COVID at Benefis Health System and of those, two had been vaccinated. Four were in the ICU and three were on ventilators, none of whom had been vaccinated, according to Benefis. 

COVID vaccine boosters offered throughout Cascade County, case numbers dropped last week

There were 145 non-COVID patients hospitalized at Benefis, according to the state report.

There was one COVID patient and 16 non-COVID patients hospitalized at Great Falls Clinic, according to the state report.