The Flathead City-County Health Department confirmed one additional COVID-19-related death in Flathead County on Thursday, bringing the area’s total number of virus fatalities to 27.

The health department did not provide the age of the individual, nor did officials confirm if he or she had underlying health conditions.

“We express our sincerest sympathies to all that have been affected by this death,” Tamalee St. James Robinson, interim health officer of the health department, said in a prepared statement.

Thus far, about half of Flathead County’s COVID-19-related deaths are associated with a recent outbreak at a long-term care facility in Whitefish.

All told, 337 Montanans have died from COVID-19-related issues since the start of the pandemic, according to the most recent state data. Nearly 90 of those deaths have occurred in Yellowstone County alone. Other counties that have experienced at least one dozen fatalities include Big Horn, Cascade, Missoula, Glacier and Hill.

The Flathead City-County Health Department updates its website on a regular basis with local case counts and coronavirus-related press releases. The website can be reached at https://flatheadhealth.org/novel-coronavirus-covid-19/

Reporter Kianna Gardner can be reached at 758-4407 or [email protected]