As of Thursday, August 20, 2020, Montana reports 6,072 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 117 new cases reported in the last day: 42 in Yellowstone County, 18 in Flathead County, 13 in Rosebud County, 8 in Phillips County, 7 in Gallatin County, 6 in each of Big Horn and Sanders Counties, 5 in Cascade County, 2 in each of Lewis & Clark and Missoula Counties, and 1 in each of Blaine, Carbon, Deer Lodge, Ravalli, Roosevelt, Silver Bow, Stillwater, and Sweet Grass Counties. Statewide, 357 people have been hospitalized, and 101 people are currently being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. Yellowstone County has had 1,637 cases so far. Gallatin County has had 1,003. The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 1,549. The most active cases are in Yellowstone County, with 690 active cases. Gallatin County has 27 active cases. 5 more people have died in Montana from COVID-19, including the 14th death in Big Horn County, a man in his sixties who had been hospitalized. Big Horn County has a population of 13,000 and contains portions of the Crow Reservation, whose population has been hard-hit by coronavirus. 89 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Nationwide, more than 173,000 Americans have died. There have been 5.5 million COVID-19 cases in the United States, and counting.

Patients who suffer symptoms of COVID-19 for months after the illness first strikes are known as “long-haulers”. Long-Haulers Are Redefining COVID-19. One patient, Lauren Nichols, has been sick with COVID-19 since March 10, shortly before Tom Hanks announced his diagnosis and the NBA temporarily canceled its season. She has lived through one month of hand tremors, three months of fever, and four months of night sweats. On day 150 of her illness, she was on her fifth month of gastrointestinal problems and severe morning nausea. She still has extreme fatigue, bulging veins, excessive bruising, an erratic heartbeat, short-term memory loss, gynecological problems, sensitivity to light and sounds, and brain fog. Even writing an email can be hard, she said, “because the words I think I’m writing are not the words coming out.” She wakes up gasping for air twice a month. It still hurts to inhale.

Tens of thousands of people, collectively known as “long-haulers,” have similar stories. Some patients who were the first to become sick with COVID-19 now have been suffering for months. Of the long-haulers surveyed, most are women. Their average age is 44. Most were formerly fit and healthy. They look very different from the typical portrait of a COVID-19 patient—an elderly person with preexisting health problems. Long-haulers present actual illness that is contrary to the notion that COVID-19 kills some people but is “mild” for most. Doctors and long-hauler patients are finding that’s not true, and the illness of COVID-19 can result in months and months of prolonged and severe symptoms, which can become permanent disability.

California is severely short on firefighting crews after COVID-19 lockdowns at prison camps. Inmate fire crews are a key component of the state’s efforts to battle out-of-control wildfires. But This week, California state prison officials announced they had placed 12 of the state’s 43 inmate fire camps on lockdown due to a massive outbreak of coronavirus at a Northern California prison that serves as the training center for fire crews. Until the lockdown lifts, only 30 of the state’s 77 inmate crews are available to fight wildfires in California.

Two inmates at the Gallatin County jail tested positive for the coronavirus within the past month and have been isolated from other inmates. Gallatin County Sheriff Brian Gootkin said each inmate was put in a cell that has its own ventilation system and have been there since learning they were infected with COVID-19. He said jail officials are working closely with the health department on protocols. One inmate was placed in the cell about three weeks ago after that person contracted the virus. The other inmate was placed in a separate cell, also with its own ventilation system, about a week ago. The jail requires that detention center officers wear face masks in areas where the infected inmates are being held. A detention center officer contracted the virus about a month ago and was sent home to quarantine. The officer will be back to work next week. In April, the jail reported an inmate had contracted the disease and was placed in one of the cells with its own ventilation. The inmate was booked on a Saturday and released the following Monday because of the illness.