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Articles written by Chris Aadland


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  • Playing catch-up with the curve

    Chris Aadland, Montana Free Press|Updated Dec 1, 2020

    In Montana’s largest county, Yellowstone, the public health officer said his workers are facing a backlog of more than 760 new COVID-19 cases waiting for contact tracing and case investigation.  Nearly 300 miles away, Roosevelt County’s public health officer says her office receives calls from people who have recently tested positive, but haven’t yet been contacted by a public health worker.  And in Lewis and Clark County, public health officials say they have scaled back their contract tracing efforts because of the...

  • Bullock: masks now mandatory

    Chris Aadland, Montana Free Press|Updated Jul 21, 2020

    HELENA - Gov. Steve Bullock today said he's requiring mask wearing for many Montanans to slow the spread of the coronavirus as the number of confirmed cases continues to surge and the state grapples with a new problem of limited testing capacity. Bullock acknowledged at a Wednesday press conference that efforts to convince Montanans to voluntarily wear cloth masks in indoor spaces - which health officials say reduces the chance of viral transmission from the wearer to others...