As of Monday, October 12, 2020, Montana reports 19,125 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 423 new cases reported in the last day: 94 in Flathead County, 81 in Yellowstone County, 54 in Toole County, 33 in Missoula County, 14 in Hill County, 13 in Valley County, 12 in Beaverhead County, 11 in Gallatin County, 10 in Roosevelt County, 10 in Silver Bow County, 8 in each of Deer Lodge, Lake, and Richland Counties, 7 in each of Glacier and Ravalli Counties, and more new cases in 22 more Montana counties. Statewide, 904 people have been hospitalized, and 291 people currently are being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. At least half of all hospital beds in 27 Montana counties are full. In Lincoln and in Flathead County, inpatient hospital beds are completely full. In Yellowstone, Musselshell and Custer counties, hospitals are at least 90 percent full. Refrigerated morgue trucks have been brought in by Billings Clinic to handle escalating deaths and lack of resources due to COVID. There are 7,432 active coronavirus cases in Montana. The most active cases are in Yellowstone, Flathead, Missoula, Cascade, and Gallatin Counties. 212 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Nationwide, more than 215,000 Americans have died. There have been 7,790,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

For survivors of COVID-19, symptoms can persist for months afterward. Brain fog is affecting thousands of patients, impeding their ability to work and function in daily life. Scientists aren’t sure what causes brain fog, which varies widely and affects even people who became only mildly physically ill from Covid-19 and had no previous medical conditions. Leading theories are that brain fog arises when the body’s immune response to the virus doesn’t shut down or from inflammation in blood vessels leading to the brain.

Kentucky’s governor will quarantine after a member of his security detail who drove with his family tested positive for COVID-19. Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said he and his family show no coronavirus symptoms. Beshear’s wife and their two children also will quarantine.

Montana has seen a dramatic increase in sickness, hospitalizations, and death due to COVID-19, reporting greater numbers of cases in the past ten days than in any period since the pandemic began. Montana reports more than a 230% increase in deaths in just over two months. State officials have said the increase in cases is caused by schools reopening, holiday weekend gatherings and the continuing spread of the virus in congregate living settings, such as nursing homes and jails. COVID-19 cases have been reported at 226 Montana schools, 61 assisted-living facilities, 43 long-term care facilities, 13 correctional facilities, 12 universities and colleges, five group homes, three mental health centers and one senior living facility.

In Yellowstone County, In Yellowstone County, a man in his 70s died Saturday in the hospital. It is the county’s 74th COVID-19-related death. The recent spike in coronavirus cases in Yellowstone County has prompted new restrictions on capacity at bars, restaurants and casinos, along with other restrictions on group gatherings and places of worship. Last Friday, Yellowstone County reached 598 new COVID-19 cases in a single week, exceeding the number of new cases that triggers a new health officer order. The new restrictions are meant to slow down the congregation of people, the primary way that coronavirus is spread. Toole County has just 4,750 residents, yet has reported several cases at a county-owned nursing facility and hospital, and had six deaths. Toole County is also home to the Crossroads Correctional Center, a privately run prison operated by CoreCivic. As of Oct. 2, 35 staff and inmates have tested positive. And 11 inmates at the Cascade County Regional Detention Center in Great Falls have tested positive for COVID-19.