With coronavirus cases continuing to rise in Flathead County, health officials are pleading with folks to avoid large crowds and wear masks to stem the spread of the disease.

Recent case investigations have found that COVID-19 exposures are linked to social gatherings in indoor spaces, such as birthday parties and group dinners, as well as large events like weddings and trade shows.

The Flathead City-County Health Department is urging people to take the following steps:

• Residents should limit their number of close, non-household contacts to no more than six persons per week, as well as limiting the duration of close, non-household contacts to less than 15 minutes whenever possible.

• Where possible, residents are encouraged to utilize contact-free services

of businesses, including but not limited to drive-through and take-out food services, contactless delivery, and the like.

• People are encouraged to minimize the number of trips, locations, and time to the greatest extent possible when they have to leave their homes.

• Residents should be very vigilant in adhering to physical distancing requirements and recommendations, hand hygiene and surface sanitation procedures, and staying away from others when sick.

Residents should be vigilant in adhering to masking requirements and recommendations while in public spaces and while within close contact of non-household members.

“The increasing number of positive cases and the evidence of widespread community transmission have brought Flathead County to a point where tough decisions need to be made,” Tamalee St James Robinson, Interim Health

Officer said in a release. “The growing rate of COVID-19 in our community is not sustainable for our healthcare system, our public health staff, and our schools. We have to decide what is more important- social gatherings or keeping our schools and businesses open. It is up to all of us to slow the spread.”

The county reported 137 new COVID-19 cases over the weekend and to date there have been 23 confirmed COVID-19 related deaths of county residents.