As of Friday, October 9, 2020, Montana reports 17,399 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 715 new cases reported in the last day: 155 in Yellowstone County, 136 in Flathead County, 61 in Gallatin County, 43 in Cascade County, 30 in Big Horn County, 26 in Hill County, 25 in Beaverhead County, 24 in Roosevelt County, 20 in Missoula County, 18 in Lewis & Clark County, 16 in Deer Lodge County, 15 in Valley County, 14 in Fergus County, 12 in Wheatland County, 11 in Ravalli County and in Silver Bow County, and there are new coronavirus cases in 28 more Montana counties. Statewide, 868 people have been hospitalized, and 266 people are currently being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. At least half of all hospital beds in 27 Montana counties are full. The state is reporting inpatient hospital beds are completely full in Lincoln County and at least 90 percent full in Yellowstone, Musselshell and Custer counties. There are 6,330 active coronavirus cases in Montana. The most active cases are in Yellowstone, Flathead, Missoula and Cascade Counties. 206 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Nationwide, more than 213,000 Americans have died. There have been 7,640,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

Countries across Europe are imposing new restrictions as the second wave of coronavirus infections sweep across the region. All but three European countries— Cyprus, Finland and Norway — have reached the European CDC’s coronavirus alarm threshold. The Czech Republic enacted a second state of emergency this past week, and Madrid, Spain has entered a partial lockdown, barring non-essential travel to and from the city. Paris, France moved into a state of “maximum alert” as 40% of emergency beds in hospitals filled, leading to the closure of Paris bars and cafés. Ireland and Scotland are mulling tough new restrictions. Even as Europe is reporting higher numbers of new cases than during the peak of coronavirus outbreaks, the crisis isn’t as severe as it was through March and April.

Montana has seen a dramatic increase in sickness, hospitalizations, and death due to COVID-19, reporting greater numbers of cases in the past week than in any period since the pandemic began. On the last day of July, we had lost 60 Montanans to COVID-19. Today, just two months later, more 206 Montanans have died. That’s more than a 230% increase in deaths in just over two months.