Flathead County Health Board members voted to a 4-4 tie on Monday meaning an order to immediately limit indoor event size in Flathead County to 500 people will not move forward.
If approved, the order would have required events and gatherings between 50 and 499 people to submit a detailed plan outlining protective measures and environmental controls to reduce the risk of disease transmission.
The detailed plans would’ve been required at least 14 days prior to the event or gathering.
School sanctioned sports and activities as well as traditional worship services were not subject to this order.
If approved, the order would have gone into effect on Nov 4. and remain in place through Jan. 31.
Flathead County Public Health Officer Tamalee Robinson says Flathead County saw a record-high number of new positive cases between Oct. 25 through Oct. 31.
“We’ve actually had 564 cases this past week which has been our biggest week so far since the outbreak.”
Board members voted 5-3 against a similar order restricting event size to under 500 people on Oct. 15.
Flathead County has seen a total of 3,686 confirmed COVID-19 cases to date. There have been 2,715 recoveries and 27 COVID-19 related deaths.