Big Sky Times

Concerns regarding the state of COVID-19 testing within the state are coming to the forefront as the state begins the road to economic recovery.

Montana Governor Steve Bullock has unveiled plans to reopen the state economy in three phases. In introducing the plan, Bullock praised state efforts to limit the spread of the coronavirus, which has placed the state as the lowest per-capita for case numbers in the nation, the Montana Free Press reported. 

The administration will continue to monitor data and consult with local public health officials as it evaluated progress in considering the next phases of reopening. 

The concerns regarding the testing stem from several issues and center around specific data from counties. The state has also only tested 1.1% of its population entering the last week of April, short of the 1.4% tested in the nation. 

The state does not track how many people have been tested in each county, which can present inaccurate data. In the rural state, people may not seek medical treatments in the same county they live in.  

Experts state the data derived from county testing is valuable in determining where the state may have a shortfall and for charting infections over the course of time. It can be argued the state is unable to make accurate data-driven decisions in opening up the economy.’

“When you don’t know that, it’s hard to make a good judgment of when to loosen up controls,” Aaron Katz, health policy professor the University of Washington said about testing counts at the county level, to the Montana Free Press. 

State journalists requested numbers from each county on how many residents had been tested. A total of 43 provided figures by April 8 indicating as many as 1,000 tested in some counties and none in others. 

County officials reported negative test results were a second-tier priority and not always reported. Rural counties reported positive tests taken in another county are reported but negative tests are not on a consistent basis.

The Montana Free Press added only the positive test results taken from private labs are reported in the state’s total. Private labs have conducted 2,500 tests. 

There are also cases where people with symptoms have not been able to receive tests.

Given the rural nature of Montana, the state is similar to others, in that reopening the economy could have a different timeline depending on region numbers. 

State officials acknowledge some cases have slipped through the cracks but do not believe lack of county results provides a gap in information on which to act. 

State Department of Health and Human Services spokesman Jon Ebelt said gaps would come to the attention of the state based on hospitalizations. 

“At this point, hospitalizations do not indicate that the virus is spreading unnoticed,” he told the Montana Free Press.