Long anticipated hugs

As of April 20, Madison County reported 19 active coronavirus cases. There have been 759 confirmed positive cases since the beginning of the pandemic. Two residents are currently hospitalized.

“There’s some slight surges here and there,” head of the Incident Command Team Joe Brummell said. These surges are spread out in ages throughout the county and are evident in neighboring counties as well. With the increase in cases, hospital bed capacity has surged as well. Madison County is at 71% bed capacity.

The latest rise has been in the 20-39 and school-aged categories. Last week, the Twin Bridges School District experienced a rise in cases, and the outbreak in the elementary school is coming to a close. This surge in younger ages is also experienced in Jefferson and Beaverhead counties—Brummell mentioned the culprit may have been Easter gatherings.

One thousand eight hundred and ninety-eight Madison County residents are fully vaccinated and 2,645 have received their first dose.

At Madison Valley Manor (MVM) in Ennis, no staff or residents are currently quarantined. The facility expects its outbreak status to be lifted Tuesday, resulting in indoor visitation allowed once again. Two new admissions are scheduled for this week.

The county prevalence rate of 2.2% requires weekly testing of staff and residents as needed in both nursing home facilities. That number is expected to rise with the surge in cases in the county.

At Tobacco Root Mountains Care Center (TRMCC) in Sheridan, no residents or staff are quarantined. Indoor visitation has been allowed in the facility. The two admissions scheduled last week were postponed for a week.

“Indoor visitation has been excellent,” Nursing Home Administratior Gail Nelson said. “It is the most heartwarming thing I can say I’ve seen all year, seeing these people get to hug their families for the first time in a year.”