HELENA -- As both the Helena Capital and Helena High football teams got ready for intrasquad scrimmages on Thursday, Lewis and Clark City-County Board of Health discussed whether to allow fans at sporting events. Ultimately, an amendment to allow fans at sporting events in Lewis and Clark County was passed, provided school districts submit adequate plans to Lewis and Clark Public Health for review.
The decision encompasses all of Lewis and Clark County high school sporting events and comes as East Helena readies for its first football game on its new field on Sept. 8, and Helena High gets set to take on the Butte Bulldogs on Sept. 11.
The amendment to Health Officer order 10-2020 will have the spectators in the stands be a separate event from the game they will be watching. The plans will still be subject to Lewis and Clark Public Health approval and must correspond with Governor Steve Bullock's Re-opening the Big Sky plan Phase 2 guidelines.
The vote from the Board of Health was nearly unanimous with one member voting against the amendment and another member not being present.
Though the amendment was approved, effective immediately, spectators will not be able to attend events until a plan is approved by the county health department.
