Covid-19 increasingly prevalent among children in Yellowstone County

Billings, Montana – Greg Upham, a Billings Public Schools Superintendent, provided updated information of Covid-19 cases on Thursday within the school district through a Facebook live stream.

According to Upham, the county superintendents meet with RiverStone Health once a week to discuss the status of COVID cases in the county.

According to the most recent data, there are currently 144 cases in schools, which is significant increase from prior weeks. According to RiverStone Health, around 25% of this week’s confirmed cases in Yellowstone County are among school-aged children.

Upham said that 4 out of 26 students in fifth-grade classroom recently tested positive and they were forced to put the whole class in quarantine.

Instead of contact tracing, SD2 has partnered with St. John’s United to offer free COVID testing in the home for students, teachers, and family members. If you’d like to get tested, go to covidtest.stjohnsunited.org to make an appointment.

In addition to the testing, Upham says the district will send a notification email or letter to individuals whose kid may be a close contact when there is an active case in a classroom or other group setting.

Masks are still required in Billings Public Schools classrooms. Parents who do not want their children to wear masks must enroll them in online learning. The deadline to register is September 3rd.