HELENA — Lewis & Clark Public Health and St. Peter’s Health is reminding the community to enjoy their Labor Day weekend, but in a safe manner.
The holidays, like the Labor Day weekend, have been a concern for Lewis & Clark Public Health.
"We can enjoy a long, holiday weekend and still be mindful of all of the precautions that need to be in place to protect ourselves and our family, our neighbors, and our entire community from the spread of the Coronavirus," says Drenda Niemann, the Public Health Officer for Lewis & Clark Public Health.
According to Lewis & Clark Public Health, when the pandemic started in Montana back in March 2020 to the 4th of July weekend, the county had about 30 cases of COVID-19.
From 4th of July weekend to the end of July 2020, that number rose to 50 total cases.
"We are attributing that spike in cases to the holiday weekend,” says Neimann. “We do really need to ask our community to be thoughtful and maybe edit their plans just to be safe. So that, we don't see that same spike in cases after this long holiday weekend."
The health community recommends following the same, safe protocols such as wearing masks and staying six feet apart. They also recommend taking notes of places and people you will be around during the holiday just in case there is a positive case of COVID-19.
Since the 4th of July COVID spike, Public Health has hired more contact tracers to prepare for the possibility of another COVID spike.
