Montana, Alberta Announce Vaccination Program For Alberta Truckers

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte has announced that Montana and Alberta have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to provide vaccines to Albertan truck drivers in Montana.

“The pandemic has had devastating consequences, including a severe impact on our economies,” Gianforte said. “By working together and taking this critical action, we keep our trade channels open between Montana and Alberta.”

He continued, “I am grateful to Premier Kenney that we can band together to prevent the spread of COVID-19, protect truckers and their families from the virus, and ensure we maintain the exchange of goods our communities rely upon. Montana will continue working to maintain our strong bonds with the people of Alberta.”

The agreement will provide the first dose of COVID-19 vaccines to Alberta commercial truck drivers who are regulated to transport goods into the United States. About 2,000 Alberta truck drivers are eligible to be vaccinated under the program.

Area Statistics

As of Sunday, May 9, Roosevelt County has seven active cases and two current hospitalizations. There have been 55 COVID-related deaths reported in the county.

As of Monday, May 3, Valley County’s active count was six. There have been 901 total cases and 11 reported COVID-reported deaths.

Daniels County had zero active cases as of Monday, May 10. The county has 189 recovered cases and 197 cumulative cases. Eight deaths have occurred due to COVID-19 and/ or complications. There are no cases currently hospitalized.

In McCone County, there are no active cases as of Monday, May 10. There are 183 recovered cases. There has been one COVID-related death in the county.

The Phillips County Health Department was reporting three active cases as of Thursday, May 6. Five hundred and eight cases are listed as recovered. There have been 17 reported COVID-related deaths. For Richland County, there are five active cases and 1,213 recovered cases as of Thursday, May 6. Total deaths are 17. There have been 1,235 total cases.

Statewide

According to Montana health officials, the state’s total number of known cases now stands at 109,935 since the start of the pandemic. There have been 1,326,571 tests conducted.

Around the state, there are 1,101 active cases. There are 71 active hospitalizations. By Tuesday, May 11, a total of 1,592 deaths have been reported statewide. A total of 107,242 people are listed as recovered.

Though there is no state mask mandate, local jurisdictions may still choose to implement their own mask requirements. Gianforte emphasized how providing incentives and encouraging personal responsibility are more effective than imposing unenforceable government mandates.

In keeping with Gianforte’s Jan. 13 directive which removed restrictions on hours of service and capacity for businesses, the latest directive continues to encourage businesses to adopt industry best practices or public health guidance to protect their employees and customers. The directive also continues to promote the use of telehealth services, protect vulnerable Montanans from eviction or foreclosure, ease of licensing for health care professionals and a reduction in regulatory burdens.

Vaccine Doses

The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services’ dashboard features county by county breakdown as far as vaccination numbers.

In Roosevelt County, 4,874 total doses have been administered. There have been 2,357 fully immunizations.

As of Monday, May 10, 747,660 total doses have been administered in Montana. There are 351,189 fully immunized Montanans. The dashboard can be found at https://www.arcgis. com/apps/MapSeries/ index.html?appid=7c-3 4 f 3 4 1 2 5 3 6 4 3 949 1 ad cc2103421d4b.