As of Saturday, August 15, 2020, Montana reports 5,659 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 121 new cases reported in the last day: 23 in Yellowstone County, 22 in Missoula County, 18 in Big Horn County, 11 in Gallatin County, 10 in Flathead County, 6 in Phillips and in Rosebud Counties, 5 in Fergus and in Lewis & Clark Counties, 3 in Lake County, 2 in each of Cascade, Deer Lodge, and Stillwater Counties, and 1 in each of Blaine, Dawson, Hill, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Toole Counties. Statewide, 324 people have been hospitalized, and 90 people are currently being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. Yellowstone County has had 1,487 cases so far, and Gallatin County has had 988. The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 1,453. The most active cases are in Yellowstone County, with 603 active cases, while Gallatin County has 41 active cases. 82 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Nationwide, more than 168,000 Americans have died.

The largest percentage of coronavirus cases in Montana, 56%, occur in people aged 24-56 years old. Those who have died of coronavirus in Montana were between 30 and 94 years of age. People hospitalized have a median age of 66.

The border between the US and Canada will remain closed to non-essential travel for at least another month due to the COVID-19 pandemic. No travel is allowed to Canada from the US until at least September 21st. The Canada-U.S. border has been closed to discretionary travel like vacations and shopping trips since the pandemic took hold of the continent in mid-March.

A Nebraska community theatre that decided to go on with their summer production of ‘Mamma Mia’ now has more than Two-thirds, or twenty-four of the 38 cast members, sick with COVID-19. Nine of those testing positive for coronavirus are teenage members of the cast. The outbreak has now shut down the playhouse and theater until February 1, 2021. The theatre has also deleted its social media accounts. It’s unknown how many audience members were infected, since audiences were not required to wear masks during performances. Nebraska Governor Ricketts’ policies to wear masks apply to private businesses. So that means the leaders at North Platte Community Playhouse easily could have required audiences to wear masks to protect other audience members and the cast and crew.

As college students move in to dorms on Montana university campuses this week, some are already moved into isolation units, sick with COVID-19. Classes begin at UM August 19 and at MSU on Monday, August 17. Officials from both universities say they won’t be publishing how many students are sick with COVID-19 during the semester. The medical director for the University of Montana’s student health clinic said he wouldn’t give an exact number of how many students are in isolation on campus, but said that it’s less than 10. All of the students are on campus.

As K-12 schools in Montana start classes, most of the larger AA districts in the state have created phased plans, a hybrid model, splitting their student populations into two groups and providing them with both in-person and online instruction. There are some exceptions: Kalispell Public Schools is bringing all of its students back five days per week, and have mandated masks for all students and desks in classrooms to be moved as far apart as possible. Bozeman and Missoula public schools will be using a hybrid model, where half the students learn at school, with social distancing and face masks, two days a week, and online three days a week. For smaller schools like Ashland on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, the reservation still remains under a stay-at-home order. The schools will start with remote learning and will shift to a hybrid model for students when the stay-at-home order lifted. Ashland has about 80 students. Dodson Public Schools in Phillips County announced this week they are delaying the start of school because of a large spike in COVID-19 cases there, so case numbers and input from local public health officials will determine how districts handle their classes.