Local health officials announced a third case of COVID-19 in Lincoln County, but said all three were related and stemmed from out-of-state exposure to the illness.

In a statement announcing the third positive case, officials said the trio of patients had limited contact with residents locally. People who have come into direct contact with the three had been notified, officials said.

“Please remember, if you have not received a call from the Health Department regarding contact with a case, you are not a considered a direct contact,” officials wrote in the statement.

One of those patients, 77-year-old Jim Tomlin, died March 26 after succumbing to the disease, his family told The Western News.

Officials are still waiting on lab results from 37 COVID-19 tests as of noon on March 27.

Residents with questions about COVID-19 are encouraged to call the county’s information hotline at 406-293-6295.