Montana has a terrible outbreak of coronavirus cases, hospitalizations, and deaths from COVID-19. Please, everyone, stop gathering. Wear a face mask over your nose and mouth whenever you’re out of your own home. Keep your distance from others.

As of Saturday, November 21, 2020, Montana reports 54,542 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 1,280 new cases reported in the last day: 172 in Yellowstone County, 157 in Flathead County, 153 in Gallatin County, 137 in Missoula County, 116 in Lewis & Clark County, 91 in Ravalli County, 74 in Silver Bow County, and more new cases in 39 more Montana counties. Statewide, 2,336 people have been hospitalized, and 474 people are being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 15,241. The most active cases are in Yellowstone County, Flathead, Cascade, Missoula, and Gallatin Counties. 600 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Nationwide, more than 254,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. There have been 12,000,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

Toronto, Canada’s largest city, was placed into lockdown for a month on Friday, with officials shutting shops, businesses and restaurants and banning indoor gatherings to curb a growing spike in Covid-19 cases.

The CDC is warning Americans: Do not travel for Thanksgiving. Citing an “exponential growth” in Covid-19 cases, federal public health officials urge people to stay home. Even spending the holiday nearby — like at a neighbor’s house just down the street — can be risky, the CDC said. There is no question that when multiple households gather, cases of COVID-19 rise dramatically. Spikes occurred after Memorial Day, the 4th of July and Labor Day. Thanksgiving — the most heavily traveled holiday in the U.S. — is sure to follow suit. But the holiday is a particular challenge with the potential to be even more dangerous. Colder weather across much of the country means open-air gatherings are impractical and consistent mask use is impossible while eating and drinking. The holiday also comes as average daily cases in the U.S. are higher than at any point in the pandemic.

Donald Trump Jr. has tested positive for Covid-19, making nearly 50 Covid-19 cases among the Trump administration and campaign officials. Donald Trump Jr., 42, was among the more than a hundred people who attended his father’s election night party at the White House, where many were seen not wearing masks. He has also been traveling as a campaign surrogate to defend his father’s election loss in various states. Since then, Andrew Giuliani, a special assistant to President Donald Trump and the son of the campaign’s top lawyer Rudy Giuliani, announced he tested positive for coronavirus. Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows, and other White House aides and members of Congress have also tested positive.

An 18-year-old freshman at the University of Dayton in Illinois has died from COVID-19. Michael Lang, 18, died due to complications from coronavirus after a long hospitalization. Lang was living on-campus before returning to his hometown and switching to remote learning on Sep. 13. Lang is among other college students who’ve died from COVID-19. Earlier in September, 20-year-old football player Jamain Stephens Jr., a student at California University of Pennsylvania, died from Covid-19 complications, as did Chad Dorill, a “healthy” sophomore at Appalachian State University, who died from coronavirus at age 19.

1 In Every 1,000 North Dakota Residents Has Been Killed By COVID. North Dakota is battling the highest Covid-19 mortality rate in the world. The majority of North Dakota’s deaths and cases (which have now left around 1 in 12 residents infected with the virus) came in the past two months. If North Dakota continues to report Covid-19 deaths at the same rate for the next few months, it is on track to overtake New Jersey as the deadliest state in the pandemic. Until last Friday, when the state reported a new daily record for hospitalizations and infections, North Dakota governor Burgum had refused to order a mask mandate in North Dakota, consistently emphasizing the importance of a “light touch” from the government in handling the pandemic. Meanwhile, healthcare professionals and community leaders in the state had advocated for restrictions for months.