About 1 in 10 people in Montana’s Hill County have, or have had COVID

The death toll from the coronavirus is rising in northcentral Montana and areas closest to southeast Alberta.

Deaths in Hill County, including the town of Havre, sat at 34 on Monday, up five from a week earlier. Two more in neighbouring Blaine County over the same time period, along with figures from Liberty County, have brought the total of that region to 57.

With 1,565 total cases in Hill County, about one person in 10 in the area has or has had COVID-19. Statewide figures provided Monday show 77,300 cases have resulted in 880 deaths among Montana’s million-person population.

The number of active cases in Hill County (population 16,000) rose to 80 on Monday with 14 new diagnosed, according to figures from state public health officials.

Neighbouring Blaine County, south of Shaunavon, Sask., had 29 active cases among 590 total cases, with 22 deaths recorded.

Liberty County, west of Hill, had one active case and one death among 98 total cases.

The Canada-U.S. border has been closed to non-essential travellers since last spring via a series of extensions. The restrictions will next be revised in late January.