Malmstrom raises health level; omicron confirmed in Cascade County
Updated 9 p.m. Jan 4
On Jan. 4, Malmstrom Air Force Base returned to Health Protection Condition Bravo due to increased COVID-19 transmission rates in the local area and on base.
With the change, masks are required in all facilities on Malmstrom, regardless of vaccination status, according to base officials.
During the Jan. 4 City Commission meeting, Col. Anita Feugate Opperman said that cases were rising among base personnel.
County adds 642 new COVID cases; case rate is 112.7 per 100,000 [October 2021]
“Members are still highly encouraged to wear masks off base when in public indoor spaces,” according to the base.
Exceptions are that members don’t have to wear masks indoors if they are:
- public speaking to an audience as long as social distancing is maintained;
- single person alone in an office space;
- when actively participating in physical fitness activities and proper physical distancing is maintained;
- children between the ages of two to five under the care of the Child Development Center or Family Child Care homes;
- facilities that manage reservations for a space that limit it to single-family use (e.g. parent/child area at fitness center, etc..);
- base housing and private living quarters in dormitory buildings.
All beneficiaries aged 12 and older are now eligible for a COVID-19 booster shot.
Malmstrom raises health level, implements mask rule due to COVID-19 case increase [September 2021]
Active duty military members have been required to get vaccinated, unless they have an exemption.
Airmen and family members can schedule their vaccine or booster shots through the base immunization clinic at 406-731-4633.
Malmstrom had lowered its HPCON level from Bravo back to Alpha in October.
As of last week’s update from the Cascade County City-County Health Department, the county’s COVID numbers were still trending downward and the Great Falls Public Schools district lifted the mask mandate for elementary schools on Jan. 3. The district had previously lifted the mask mandates for middle and high schools.
GFPS to lift mask requirement for elementary schools Jan. 3
A reader asked about those who get home tests and whether those results are being reported.
Ben Spencer at CCHD said that underreporting of positive cases has been a concern throughout the pandemic.
He told The Electric that “some people with symptoms do not get tested, and with the increased availability of at-home rapid tests, some probable cases are not confirmed with a PCR test. This can affect travel plans—you can still test positive for weeks or months after being infected, and without a confirmed PCR test record you could be treated as having an active infection and be restricted from flying. We strongly urge anyone who tests positive with an at-home test to get a confirmatory PCR test as soon as possible.”
Cascade County COVID numbers remain low another week
Though the numbers had been trending downward, Spencer said on Jan. 3 that CCHD was starting to see a slight increase in case numbers overall, which was expected due to the holidays and the omicron variant.
Four cases of omicron have been confirmed in Cascade County, but the delta variant remains the dominant strain, Spencer said.
He said that 24 test samples from Cascade County underwent variant sequencing from Dec. 29-30 and were confirmed as variants:
- 4 cases of omicron in Cascade County residents
- 1 case of omicron in a nonresident (not included in official County numbers)
- 19 cases of delta – lineages AY.44, AY.103, AY.117, AY.114, AY.25, and AY.26
Not all test samples are sent to the state lab in Helena for variant sequencing and the state lab is the only lab doing such work in Montana, Spencer said.
Most sequencing was halted in recent months, Spencer said, since the majority of samples were being confirmed as delta.
Spencer said that test samples associated with breakthrough cases, hospitalizations and deaths are prioritized for genetic sequencing.
On Jan. 3, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration expanded the eligibility for Pfizer boosters to everyone over the age of 12 and reduced the wait time after the primary vaccination series from six months to five; and a third primary series doze of the Pfizer vaccine can be given to anyone 5 and older with a compromised immune system, according to CCHD.
“We strongly encourage everyone to continue taking the preventative measures that have been recommended throughout the pandemic, including good handwashing hygiene and staying home if you feel sick,” Spencer said.
