As of Tuesday, October 13, 2020, Montana reports 19,611 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 530 new cases reported in the last day: 92 in Yellowstone County, 63 in Roosevelt County, 56 in Missoula County, 47 in Flathead County, 41 in Gallatin County, 29 in Silver Bow County, 24 in Cascade and Hill Counties, 24 in Hill County, 22 in Lewis & Clark County, and more new cases in 23 more Montana counties. Statewide, 911 people have been hospitalized, and 294 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 7,774 active coronavirus cases in Montana. The most active cases are in Yellowstone, Flathead, Missoula, Cascade, and Gallatin Counties. 217 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Nationwide, more than 215,000 Americans have died. There have been 7,880,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

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.

Yellowstone County has implemented greater limits on public or private gatherings, to no more than 25 people, inside or outside, starting Wednesday. Mask-wearing and physical distancing would still be required. The limit does not apply to schools or daycares. Churches can have more than 25 attendees as long as they are physically distanced and wear masks and the number does not exceed 50% of the church’s capacity. And Flathead County is recommending 25% capacity for bars, restaurants and churches and limiting gatherings to no more than 25 people.

The Bozeman School Board approved dates for moving to full in-person classes with requirements for contact tracing efforts and handline coronavirus outbreaks in schools. There are different transition dates for the three levels of schools. Prekindergarten to fifth grade is Nov. 2. For middle schools it’s Nov. 23. For high schools it’s the beginning of the second semester, Jan. 25. This was the second school board vote. Some Bozeman School Board trustees questioned the wisdom of holding this second vote so far ahead of the target dates, but the board could still pivot / if remaining in the blended model was necessitated by the local health department, governor or staffing concerns.

Just days after a decision to move toward more in-person classes, Whitefish Public Schools announced Monday it will stay in a hybrid model and move its middle school to all remote classes. The change follows 16 new COVID-19 cases in the school district. Last Thursday, school board members approved a plan for students in 7th through 12th grade to go to all in-person classes four days a week. Now, Whitefish has done an abrupt reversal as school coronavirus infections increase.

Due to recent possible COVID exposure, the Gallatin County Motor Vehicle Office in the courthouse on Main Street in Bozeman is closed until further notice. Other offices in the Courthouse – which includes the Elections Office, the Planning Office and the Clerk and Recorder’s Office – remain OPEN.