COVID-19 cases surge before students’ return to campus

Ahead of the start of the spring semester on Wednesday, Jan. 19, Gallatin County is seeing a record number of COVID-19 cases higher than the wave of cases during the final months of 2020. 

Driven by the Omicron variant, which is now the most prevalent strain in the state according to the Department of Public Health and Human Services, the seven-day rolling average number of new daily cases reported by the Gallatin County Health Department rose to 257.2 cases per 100,00 residents by Friday, Jan. 14, up from 211.5 cases the previous week. On Nov. 20, 2020, during the peak of last winter’s surge, the health department reported an average of 140.6 cases per 100,000 residents. 

There were 2,629 active cases of COVID-19 in the county as of Friday.

According to the health department’s weekly surveillance report, a seven-day average of 32.8% of COVID-19 tests were positive last week. On Nov. 20, 2020, the average testing positivity rate was 22.8%.

During a press conference on Friday discussing the surveillance report, Kallie Kujawa, COVID-19 incident command lead for Bozeman Health, said the hospital was collecting an average of 550 COVID-19 tests per day, the highest demand since the beginning of the pandemic. The hospital is returning test results in 48-72 hours on average. “If the demand continues to increase for PCR testing specifically, our turnaround times may increase as well,” Kujawa said. She thanked the community for its patience with the high demand for tests. 

On Friday, there were 14 COVID-19 patients hospitalized at Bozeman Health Deaconess, five of which were being treated in the critical care unit, which was at 75% capacity, Kujawa said. The hospital’s medical unit was at 92% and the surgical unit at 93% capacity.

Gallatin County Health Officer Lori Christenson said the highest proportion of cases in the county are among age groups 12-17 and 18-29. Out of a population of 28,995 people aged 18-29 in the county, there were 881 active cases as of Thursday, Jan. 13.

“We should, regardless of our vaccination status, be wearing a mask in indoor public places and I’ll continue to reiterate the importance of getting a vaccine,” Christenson said. 

President Cruzado sent an email to students on Wednesday, Jan. 12, saying that the university is “committed to having an in-person semester.” Campus mask requirements for indoor spaces will still be in place as classes resume for the spring semester, with the exception of the fitness center. Cruzado wrote “we will proceed cautiously, balancing public health considerations as well as the educational needs of our students.”

During the press call on Friday, Tracy Ellig, vice president of university communications, also said MSU’s goal was to remain in person to the best of its ability.

“Fundamentally, all of the tools that we were using last semester we’ll continue to use in the spring,” Ellig said.

Students can get COVID-19 tests at MSU’s student testing center between the northeast corner of Bobcat stadium and the Museum of the Rockies if they are showing symptoms. There are also testing locations and resources listed on the health department’s website. Resources for quarantine and isolation, including grocery delivery and mental health and academic support can be found on the MSU website for students who have tested positive. 

Ellig said the university will continue its messaging about the importance and value of students getting vaccinated against COVID-19. There will not be vaccination incentive programs this semester because the federal funding for programs like the fall vaccine sweepstakes was used up.

“We saw an enormous entry into that incentive program when we first rolled it out and then the number of students who enrolled in the incentive program really slowed down and it feels like we may have basically reached saturation in the effectiveness of that program,” Ellig said. 

Students can receive COVID-19 vaccines by making an appointment through University Health Partners, or find other appointments by visiting the health department’s website.