BILLINGS – Yellowstone County reported two additional COVID-19 deaths on Wednesday.
RiverStone Health said in a press release that on Dec. 28 a man in his 80s died at a Billings hospital. On Dec. 29 a man in his 70s died at a Billings hospital.
The additional deaths bring the total number of COVID-19 deaths in Yellowstone County to 162. Twenty-seven of those deaths have occurred during the month of December, the county health agency said.
“Our hearts go out the families of these victims of the pandemic,” said John Felton, Yellowstone County public health officer and RiverStone Health CEO. “We are still losing lives to COVID-19 after the first shipments of vaccines have arrived. While Yellowstone County health organizations begin vaccinating health workers and first responders, everyone needs to keep taking precautions against spreading this potentially deadly virus.”
The number of new COVID-19 cases has decreased from a peak in November, but the virus is still circulating in Yellowstone County, the press release states. The health agency said residents should continue to practice COVID-19 prevention methods:
· Wear a mask in public and whenever you are with a person who doesn’t live with you.
· Keep your distance of at least 6 feet from others who don’t live with you.
· Wash your hands thoroughly and frequently.
· Stay home if you are ill.
At least 13,836 Yellowstone County residents have been infected with COVID-19 to date.
More information on the pandemic, including updated Yellowstone County statistics, is online at covid.riverstonehealth.org.