The Gallatin County Board of Health was set to vote on requiring masks on Tuesday morning but postponed the meeting until 1:30 p.m. after more than 100 people showed up and refused to listen from another room, in violation of statewide restrictions on large gatherings.

The meeting on Tuesday afternoon will be held virtually. The county is still figuring out the logistics of the virtual meeting, said spokesperson Whitney Bermes.

Dozens of people filed into The Commons at Baxter & Love shortly before 7 a.m. The county had set out chairs meant to facilitate social distancing. Some people crowded into the back of the meeting room.

Very few people wore masks. A few held signs. One sign read, “If only 2% of those who have tested positive have died, let’s reopen Montana.”

Sheriff Brian Gootkin stood up to tell those at the back of the room that they needed to wait outside, where the meeting was being broadcast, for their turn to provide public comment. He cited statewide rules that limit gatherings to 50 if people aren’t socially distanced.

In response, attendees yelled over the sheriff. One person shouted, “Public meetings are for the public.” Another requested the county bring out more chairs.

Gallatin County Commissioner Joe Skinner, who sits on the health board, said the board wanted to hold the meeting and listen to everyone but had to do so in compliance with the statewide rule.

The crowd also drowned him out.

The board of health then decided to postpone the meeting, and board members left.

Dozens of attendees began shouting and eventually started chanting, “my body, my choice.”

Gootkin stayed behind and said he would answer questions from attendees about the sheriff’s office. He urged the crowd to go to the Montana Legislature if they want to change laws they disagree with.

He also said if the health board approved a mask mandate, the sheriff’s office wouldn’t issue criminal citations to violators.

At one point, Skinner returned to address the crowd and again urge them to provide their comments directly to the health board.

Over 1,000 people submitted comments in advance of Tuesday’s meeting. Some asked for a mask mandate in order to slow the spread of the virus, while others said it could harm the economy and would impinge on their freedoms.

As cases have risen in recent weeks, some Bozeman residents and businesses have urged people to wear masks. Last week, dozens of downtown businesses began requiring servers and other employees who interact with the public to wear masks.

Bozeman city commissioners also sent a letter to the board of health last week to encourage a mask mandate and social distancing requirements.

A Bozeman resident started an online petition to pressure Gallatin County to require masks. More than 3,500 have signed it. There is also a petition with about 1,600 signatures asking for the county not to implement a mask requirement.

Other counties, including Big Horn and Missoula, have required masks in public. Flathead County was also set to vote on requiring masks on Tuesday.

Gov. Steve Bullock has said he supports the local rules but doesn’t want to implement a statewide mask mandate.

When the board reconvenes on Tuesday afternoon, it will also decide whether to extend extended the county’s requirement that symptomatic people awaiting test results and those who have been identified as a close contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 must quarantine. Those who have tested positive must stay in isolation until they are deemed no longer contagious.

The Gallatin City-County Health Department notifies those who must follow the isolation and quarantine requirements.