Cascade County added 1,493 new COVID cases over the last week, bringing the cumulative total to 20,950, according to the weekly update from the City-County Health Department.

There were three new COVID related deaths among county residents, bringing the total to 293.

The new case rate is 262.1 per 100,000, the highest rate in the county since the start of the pandemic, according to CCHD data.

Free at-home COVID test kits available at CCHD

The case rate is the average of daily new cases over the last week and is calculated on Wednesdays.

The new positivity rate is 30.9 percent.

There were 126 new breakthrough cases over the last week, bringing the total to 1,971 since February 2020.

A breakthrough case is when a fully vaccinated person tests positive for COVID. A person is considered fully vaccinated when they receive the full initial series of the vaccine, which is two doses for Pfizer and Moderna and one for Johnson and Johnson.

As of Jan. 31, there have been 91,661 doses of the vaccines administered in Cascade County and 37,389 people, or 49 percent of the eligible population, are fully immunized, according to the state dashboard.

According to the state update, of those aged 5-11, nine percent were fully vaccinated and four percent partially vaccinated as of Jan. 28. Among those 12-17, 34 percent were fully vaccinated and five percent partially vaccinated.

GFPS adjusts COVID policy for positive cases

On Jan. 28, Great Falls Public Schools officials said that the district was adopting the same rule as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the Cascade County City-County Health Department that requires a person who tests positive to COVID-19 to isolate for a minimum of five days.

GFPS approves additional pay for substitute teachers

“If the infected individual is feeling better by the sixth day they may return to work or school, if they wear a mask/face covering for the remaining five days of their infection. If you choose not to wear a mask, you must remain out of school/work for the remaining five days of your illness,” according to GFPS.

GFPS returning to classrooms Jan. 18

As of Feb. 1, there were 140 active cases within the district.

At Benefis Health System, there were 50 patients hospitalized with COVID, and of those 19 were vaccinated. Nine COVID patients were in the ICU and one of them was vaccinated. Seven COVID patients were on ventilators, according to Benefis.

The weekly state report on hospitalization showed 55 COVID patients hospitalized as of Jan. 31 at Benefis and 105 non-COVID patients hospitalized. That report shows 11 non-COVID patients in the ICU leaving one bed available.

At Great Falls Clinic, there were four COVID and 13 non-COVID patients hospitalized, as of Jan. 31, according to the state report.