As of Sunday, September 20, 2020, Montana has surpassed 10,000 coronavirus cases. Montana reports 10,299 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 136 new cases reported in the last day: 44 in Yellowstone County, 37 in Flathead County, 26 in Rosebud County, 6 in Glacier County, 4 in each of Cascade, Gallatin, and Roosevelt Counties, 2 in each of Park and Valley Counties, and 1 in each of seven more counties: Custer, Fergus, Lewis & Clark, Meagher, Musselshell, Sanders, and Silver Bow Counties. Statewide, 570 people have been hospitalized, and 104 people are currently being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. Yellowstone County has had 2,841 cases so far. Gallatin County has had 1,204. The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 2,335. The most active cases are in Yellowstone County, with 764 active cases. Gallatin County has 66. 157 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Nationwide, more than 199,000 Americans have died. There have been 6,790,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

As the number of coronavirus deaths in the US is poised to surpass 200,000 people, many experts are predicting a surge in the number of new infections in the fall and winter, combined with growing fatigue over social distancing and other public health measures, that could result in more than 415,000 deaths in the U.S. by January. The prediction comes even as doctors are growing more adept at treating patients, and clinical trials are finding that treatments like remdesivir and dexamethasone can help. And as the pandemic has spread, it has moved into younger, healthier populations.

Preterm or premature deliveries appear to be linked to coronavirus infections, according to a new study on COVID-19 and pregnancy. Medical data on nearly 600 hospital patients between March and mid-August who both tested positive for COVID-19 and were pregnant found that preterm or premature deliveries were more than 25% higher than the rate in the general population. Preterm births were three times more common in symptomatic patients than in those who were asymptomatic but still carriers of coronavirus.

Masks help bring down COVID cases. “Masks work. Physical distancing works. And the number don’t lie,” says the governor of Indiana and many other states with face mask directives. State and county health officials across the country say the stark drop in COVID-19 case counts in their communities before and after mask orders were imposed clearly shows how effective masks can be in reducing the spread of the coronavirus. There are still many Americans who resist, protest against and rant about wearing face masks, but states with face mask directives have seen significant drops in daily COVID-19 cases. Alabama, for instance, has cases above 2,000 in July. Then the state passed a face mask directive. Now, cases have plummeted to 574 a day. “The mask absolutely played a very important role and we really have had no other significant limitations or interventions other than the mask,” Dr. Scott Harris, Alabama state health officer. Indiana currently has one of the lowest coronavirus transmission rates in the U.S., a significant result of the statewide mask orders of Gov. Eric Holcomb , who said, “Masks work. Physical distancing works. And the number don’t lie.” With no federal mandate, 34 governors have ordered statewide mask mandates. The CDC guidelines say that a mask should have two or more layers, and you should make sure it covers your nose and mouth.