The spread of COVID-19 in Billings has claimed its first big local summer event. The cancelation of the Billings Clinic Classic Celebration street party.
Jim Duncan, President of the Billings Clinic Foundation, the organizer of the major fundraiser for the Billings Clinic, said they had planned a scaled back outdoor street dance with COVID restrictions in place but the last 48 to 72 hours changed their plans.
“Billings Clinic hospital was full, beyond capacity, on divert. Our emergency department was full with long waits beyond because of the numbers. Our ICU was full,” Duncan says.
Duncan says hospital patients with COVID included an infant less than 10 days old.
He says the hospital has even started plans to build 20 to 30 temporary hospital beds again to increase their capacity.
Duncan says there are still parts of the Classic which will go on like the 7 golf tournaments which are small and outdoors.
Ticket holders for the street dance can request a full refund or donate the money to Billings Clinic for their new Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
