As of Tuesday, September 22, 2020, Montana reports 10,700 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with another new record high number of coronavirus cases: 275 new cases reported in the last day: 59 in Cascade County, 38 in Flathead County, 31 in Roosevelt County, 26 in Gallatin County, 25 in Big Horn County, 20 in Yellowstone County, 18 in Silver Bow County, 11 in Glacier County, 10 in Jefferson County, 6 in Dawson County, 4 in Stillwater County, 3 in each of Missoula, Ravalli, and Richland Counties, 2 in each Fergus, Pondera, and Sheridan Counties, and 1 in each of twelve more Montana counties: Carbon, Custer, Hill, Lake, Lewis & Clark, Lincoln, Park, Phillips, Rosebud, Sweet Grass, Valley, and Wheatland Counties. Please, people, wear your face masks, don’t socialize in groups, wash your hands, and take this virus outbreak seriously.

Statewide, 584 people have been hospitalized, and 111 people are currently being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. Yellowstone County has had 2,882 cases so far. Gallatin County has had 1,234. The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 2,600. The most active cases are in Yellowstone County, with 802 active cases. Gallatin County has 70. 163 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. The most recent deaths include two men in their 70s who died Monday. They had lived in separate senior living facilities, but died in the hospital in Yellowstone County. Big Horn County announced that a man in his 70s died. He had been hospitalized prior to his death and was Big Horn County’s 22nd resident to die from the coronavirus. Nationally, we have hit a grim milestone of more than 200,000 Americans dead of COVID-19. There have been 6,910,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

Montana has had record/ high/ numbers/ of coronavirus cases in four/ of the past five days. Last week, Montana reported 490 more cases than the previous week. Much of the recent increase in COVID-19 cases in Montana is in six counties — Deer Lodge, Flathead, Missoula, Roosevelt, Rosebud and Yellowstone. Some of those areas are enacting new restrictions. In northwest Montana, the Northern Cheyenne Tribal Council announced Tuesday that it would implement a lockdown from Friday to Monday to slow the spread of the virus. Last week, Babb and St. Mary, unincorporated towns on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, issued a mandatory two-week quarantine for all residents. State epidemiologists attribute some of the spike in cases to a return to in-person schooling. Last week, there was a 90% increase over the prior week in the number of cases among school-age children. As of Friday, 62 schools in Montana had reported COVID-19 cases. Other congregate settings, such as assisted living, long-term care and correctional facilities, are also contributing to the increase.

Recent cases have also been tied to social events. Recent case investigations show that some people had tested positive for COVID-19 after visiting bars or attending parties and Labor Day gatherings. Last week there was a 50% increase over the prior week in the number of cases among those aged 20-39 years old. Greg Holzman, the state medical officer, said COVID-19 is now among the top 10 causes of deaths in Montana and has killed more people than motor vehicle crashes. Gov. Steve Bullock said Tuesday that he does not plan to implement additional public health restrictions in response to a recent spike in coronavirus cases but urges Montanans to continue to wear masks and to practice social distancing.

A single airline passenger spread coronavirus to 15 other people aboard a flight from London to Hanoi, Vietnam. Researchers identified a 27-year-old woman from Vietnam who had a sore throat and a cough before the flight as the source of the outbreak. Twelve passengers in business class and two in economy, as well as a crew member, were infected on the flight. Upon arrival, her symptoms progressed further, and she tested positive four days later. Contact tracing is ongoing for those in contact with the infected passengers and crew.

A former Nashville, Tennessee council member, who believed the threat of coronavirus was being radically overblown, died from complications from Covid-19, officials said Monday. Tony Tenpenny passed away over the weekend after more than five weeks in the hospital, fighting the virus that has sickened more 6.8 million Americans and killed more than 200,000.