Farr also told reporters "we need registered nurses to apply to help work on this incident. … We've had that (job) posted for about two weeks and have gotten very minimal response, so if we have nurses out there that would like to work, definitely contact our Human Resources at Missoula County, because we do expect that this is going to generate quite a workload, and so we’re trying to get extra staff in to help with that."

She acknowledged that “most of the nurses within Missoula County are already working for our major healthcare system,” and said the department was looking to see if there were any retired or recently-graduated nurses who might be available.

She and Leahy said Missoula County does have rainy-day funds that are being used for this pandemic, as well as an incident-command structure to organize the response and a pandemic-response plan. But they’re being challenged not only by a shortage of nurses, but by information gaps about the virus. For instance, Leahy said, it’s unclear whether it’s a seasonal disease, such as influenza.

Farr and Leahy urged residents with questions about the outbreak to call 406-258-INFO, and to call their health care provider if they experience symptoms such as a fever and a dry cough.