As of Monday, August 3, 2020, Montana reports 4,233 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 60 new cases reported in the last day: 16 in Gallatin County, 12 in Yellowstone County, 10 in Big Horn County, 4 in each of Cascade, Lewis & Clark, and Park Counties, 2 in each of Glacier, Jefferson, and Missoula Counties, and 1 in each of Fergus, Granite, Madison, and Ravalli Counties. Statewide, 236 people have been hospitalized, and 69 people are currently being treated in the hospital for COVID-19. Yellowstone County has had 1,110 cases so far, and Gallatin County has had 868. The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 1,516. The most active cases are in Yellowstone County, with 559 active cases. Big Horn County has 198, and Gallatin County has 68. 64 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Nationwide, more than 158,000 Americans have died.

Many people who’ve contracted COVID-19 have lingering symptoms long after the illness first strikes. Some have brain fog, where they struggle to think clearly; others battle joint and muscle pain. For many people, early symptoms were textbook for COVID-19: a fever and cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, and extreme fatigue. But weeks following, many patients struggle to heal. Some have symptoms that wax and wane without ever going away. One patient described having just 3 weeks since March when her body temperature was normal. Distinct features of the virus, including its propensity to cause widespread inflammation and blood clotting, could play a role in the assortment of concerns now surfacing. Doctors are seeing a really complex group of ongoing symptoms, including fatigue, a racing heartbeat, shortness of breath, achy joints, foggy thinking, a persistent loss of sense of smell, and damage to the heart, lungs, kidneys, and brain.

Two new studies from different parts of the world have found that young children not only transmit SARS-CoV-2 efficiently, but may be major drivers of the coronavirus pandemic as well. A Chicago study looked at the concentration of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the nasopharynx, or the upper region of the throat that connects to the nasal passages.
Children 5 years and younger who developed mild to moderate Covid-19 symptoms have 10 to 100 times as much virus in the nasopharynx as older children and adults. Whenever these young children cough, sneeze, or shout, they expel virus-laden droplets from the nasopharynx into the air. They can have as much as one hundred times the amount of virus in their throat and nasal passages as adults, so it only makes sense that they would spread the virus more efficiently. The study also shows that children from the ages of 5 to 17, also with mild to moderate Covid-19 symptoms, have the same amount of virus in the nasopharynx as adults age 18 and above. Young children, while not as prone to suffering from Covid-19 infection, still drive the spread of coronavirus, just as they do with several other respiratory diseases.

Thirteen members of the St. Louis Cardinals major league baseball team — seven players and six staff — have tested positive for the coronavirus over the past week, prompting the postponement of the team’s upcoming four-game series against the Detroit Tigers. Seven consecutive Cardinals games have now been canceled after St. Louis became the second team to report a significant coronavirus outbreak, just two weeks into the season. The Cardinals have been in quarantine in Milwaukee since Thursday, when the first cases were reported. The Miami Marlins have had 20 people, including 18 players, test positive since last Sunday, forcing a pause on their season. Unlike the NBA, the MLB opted not to use a “bubble” strategy to restrict contact between players and the outside world.