As of Tuesday, November 17, 2020, Montana reports 49,398 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with yet another record high number of new cases, 1,500, reported in the last day: 540 in Cascade County, 154 in Gallatin County, 140 in Flathead County, 81 in Lewis & Clark County, 76 in Silver Bow County, 59 in Missoula County, 59 in Yellowstone County, and more new cases in 36 more Montana counties. Statewide, 2,161 people have been hospitalized, and a 456 people are being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. There are 19,750 active coronavirus cases in Montana. The most active cases are in Yellowstone County, Cascade County, and Missoula Counties, and in Gallatin and Flathead Counties. 543 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Nationwide, more than 248,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. There have been 11,400,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whose infection landed him in intensive care with COVID-19 earlier this year, is back in quarantine after he was exposed to the coronavirus again.

New lockdowns and restrictions are taking effect across the US as COVID-19 cases continue to rise. In Chicago, a sweeping stay-at-home advisory to slow the spread of the virus went into effect Monday. In Philadelphia, new restrictions were announced, and New York may be forced to close the country’s largest public school system and resume remote learning. Over the weekend, the governors of several Northeastern states / that were hit the hardest / early on / in the pandemic / held a summit in which they discussed, in particular, the private gatherings that have been fueling the COVID-19 spread and sending the hospitalization rate spiking. And states with Republican governors who had earlier denied the seriousness of the coronavirus pandemic like North Dakota and Oklahoma have changed course amid some of the worst coronavirus cases and deaths in the nation and ordered mask mandates, social distancing, and limited business hours and capacity. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds issued the state’s first mask mandate as coronavirus spiked in the last two weeks, after months of disparaging face covering restrictions as “feel good” measures.

Gov. Steve Bullock issued a new directive Tuesday, implementing several measures to help slow the spread of COVID-19 in Montana. The new directives limit all public gathering and events to 25 people where social distance is not possible. A face covering rule now applied for all Montana counties. The directive says though the group size limit applies only to public gatherings, it urges Montanans in the strongest terms to limit involvement in any gatherings of 15 or more people, including private get-togethers inside a home. Bars, restaurants and casinos capacity is limited to 50%, with closing times no later than 10 p.m Those establishments must provide 6 feet of physical distancing between groups, and tables must be limited to six people per table. The new measures will go into effect at 5 a.m. this Friday and expire at the end of the declared state of emergency. The state is offering more CARES Act money for businesses that follow the directive.

This comes as other states announced more stringent new restrictions, which include a two-week freeze on many activities in Oregon and a three-week pause on many types of social gatherings in Michigan. Other states have quarantine periods in place for people traveling from out-of-state or require visitors to test negative for COVID-19 before their arrival. The new measures in Montana are similar to those announced by Maryland.

Gallatin County hit yet another daily record for coronavirus cases over the weekend. On Sunday, the health department reported 349 new cases, marking the first time the county has exceeded 300 cases in a single day. As cases increase, hospitalizations are also climbing. Two of Montana’s largest hospitals — St. Peter’s Health in Helena and St. Vincent Healthcare in Billings — are full. Gallatin County reported 28 active hospitalizations on Monday, a daily record. Bozeman Health Deaconess Hospital and Big Sky Medical Center were both more than 90% full. The surge in hospitalizations is particularly challenging because Bozeman Health is experiencing staffing shortages that have forced the organization to ask employees who may have been exposed to the virus to return to work after seven days of quarantine instead of the recommended 14 days. The rate of tests coming back positive is also increasing, an indication that the county needs to expand testing to avoid missing a significant number of COVID-19 cases. By the end of last week, the positivity rate had reached 21.3%. Gallatin City-County Health Officer Matt Kelley called the virus’ spread “rapid” and “uncontrolled.” He also cautioned that the situation would likely get worse in the coming weeks.