Felton Calls on Businesses to Step-up Safety Efforts

For the time being most businesses in Yellowstone County can breath a sigh of relief –  at least until November 9. In a press conference on Oct. 12, County Health Officer John Felton did not shut down business activity as he said he would, if the number of COVID-19 cases in the county hit 565 or 50 cases per 100,000.

When the number of COVID -19 cases reached 598 on Oct. 9, the business community worried that Felton would put the brakes on all business, reducing capacities to a point that many would have to close and maybe end business permanently. However, Felton focused primarily on reducing the size of gatherings that will be allowed and called for a renewed emphasis on wearing face masks, physical distancing and hand washing, with the goal of “slowing the spread of the virus by the end of October.”

He said that in four weeks he would re-evaluate the situation.

Only a week before Felton threatened to reduce capacity limits and re- impose other restrictions that would essentially put businesses back into the closure mode they endured at the beginning of the COVID crisis – a disruption that some did not survive and that many are still trying to overcome.

Felton explained that county health officials wanted to give time for the public to respond to the earlier plea to heighten safety compliance, and for the effort to take effect, so they set “what seemed a very high bar of 565 cases.”

“It seemed very high, yet we eclipsed it the very week we set it,” said Felton.

As of Friday, the number of new positive cases of COVID not only reached 50 of 100,000 but exceeded it by 20 percent.

“It tells the story of how dramatically our situation has worsened,” said Felton. In fact, Yellowstone County ranks second highest in the nation in the rate of infection. “It is growing at an alarming rate.”

The greatest concern is that hospitals may not have the capacity to treat all the patients that need hospitalization. “The impact on hospitals is tremendous,” said Felton, adding that the number of hospitalizations has hovered between 81 and 96 for several weeks. Over half of the patients are from outside Yellowstone County, reflecting the fact that Billings is a regional health care center. It was stated during the press conference that local hospitals have been getting patients from North Dakota where hospitalizations are also at full capacity.

Felton said, “I applaud the many people in the community who are wearing masks, physically  distancing, and washing hands. We need more people doing that.”

“It is up to all of us to do what we know is right to stop the spread and death,” said Felton.

He also said that he was impressed with the commitment that business people expressed to him to escalate their efforts, during a special meeting hosted by the Billings Chamber of Commerce. It seemed that it was largely that determination and other focused efforts by the Chamber and Big Sky Economic Development to urge the business community to step up efforts to make a difference, that influenced Felton.

The Billings Chamber issued a statement thanking Felton “for listening to the business community and adjusting the restrictions to responsibly address the pandemic and support our businesses.”

Besides adhering to the mandates that Felton issued, the Chamber added one of their own – asking businesses and workers to, as much as possible, work at home.

To go into effect as of Oct. 14, Felton ordered that all restaurants, food courts, cafes, coffee houses, bars, brew pubs, taverns, breweries, microbreweries, distilleries, wineries, tasting rooms, special licensees, pubs and casinos shall be required to close for inside business no later than 12:30 am as issued under the Governor’s  directives. All such business shall continue to maintain all social distancing, masking requirements, and commitments made under approved Yellowstone County reopening plans for dine-in services.

Drive-through and delivery for food service only can continue past 12:30 am.

Except as otherwise indicated, all group physical gatherings, including but not limited to all businesses, organizations, and private gatherings shall be limited to no more than 25 individuals, regardless of the ability to physically distance. This restriction applies to both indoor and outdoor events.

Felton said churches are being asked to hold attendance at 50 percent of capacity, primarily because, their membership “tends to be an older population and more at risk.”

Media asked about why they haven’t called on the National Guard to set up their mobile station for medical care, as was set up in a training exercise at Metra Park this summer.

Dr. Michael Bush, St. Vincent Health Care, said that they had looked at it, and “we appreciate what they did, but there are a lot of parts to that, such as how to supply and staff it. There are steps we can still take without that facility which would bring its own challenges with it.”