As of Saturday, November 28, 2020, Montana has surpassed 60,000 coronavirus cases. Montana reports 60,845 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 1,057 new cases reported in the last day: 233 in Flathead County, 228 in Yellowstone County, 94 in Cascade County, 91 in Lewis & Clark County, 77 in Missoula County, 62 in Ravalli County, 44 in Lake County, and more new cases in 36 more Montana counties. Statewide, 2,569 people have been hospitalized, and 461 people are being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 16,076. The most active cases are in Yellowstone and Flathead County, Cascade, Lewis & Clark, and Missoula Counties. 669 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Nationwide, more than 265,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. There have been 13,200,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

The U.S. reached 13 million diagnosed cases of Covid-19 on Friday, another milestone in a month riddled with new record high numbers. It was the fourth such marker the country has counted in November, a month in which the US has seen 3.8 million cases of the coronavirus. The country is on pace to tally more than 4 million cases this month alone, more than doubling the previous record of 1.9 million cases set in October. The U.S. crossed the 12 million-case threshold less than one week ago, on Nov. 21. We’ve added a million cases in a week, and that’s not counting exposure and oncoming illness caused by people gathering for the Thanksgiving holiday.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered at least two people executed, banned fishing at sea and locked down the capital, Pyongyang, as part of frantic efforts to guard against the coronavirus and its economic damage. A North Korean lawmaker, Ha Tae-keung, quoted the National Intelligence Service as saying Kim is displaying “excessive anger” and taking “irrational measures” over the pandemic and its economic impact. North Korea executed a high-profile money changer in Pyongyang last month after holding the person responsible for a falling exchange rate. And North Korea also executed a key official in August for violating government regulations restricting goods brought from abroad. North Korea has also banned fishing and salt production at sea to prevent seawater from being infected with the virus. That’s an action not warranted by science, and that no other nation has undertaken. North Korea recently placed Pyongyang and a northern province under lockdown over virus concerns. Earlier this month, it imposed lockdown measures in other areas where officials found unauthorized goods and foreign currencies that were brought in. North Korea also made an unsuccessful hacking attempt on at least one South Korean pharmaceutical company that was trying to develop a coronavirus vaccine.

Los Angeles County, the nation’s most populous county, adopts a new stay-at-home order as Covid-19 cases rise. The restrictions will take effect Monday and will ban most public and private gatherings. The new rules affecting the county’s 10 million residents will limit essential retailers to 35 percent capacity and non-essential stores to 20 percent. Outdoor fitness centers and museums will be limited to 50 percent normal capacity, and gatherings at beaches are banned. Playgrounds will remain closed. There is a ban on restaurant dining, even outdoors (indoor dining was already banned), leaving restaurants to offer takeout and delivery only.

The NFL is closing facilities next week to slow the spread of COVID-19. As the United States continues to face a surge in coronavirus cases, the NFL is getting hit by COVID-19 again, sidelining players and staff and postponing games. In response to the increased virus positivity rate, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says all team activities on Monday and Tuesday have been prohibited, except for teams actually playing games on those days.

Doctors are warning about eye damage from ultraviolet lights that some people are using, believing the light can kill the coronavirus. Florida researchers report at least seven cases of patients with ultraviolet C or UVC damage to the cornea. People trying to kill the coronavirus with ultraviolet C germicidal lamps may risk painful eye injuries. Florida researchers report at least seven cases of patients with UVC damage to the cornea, the eye’s outer layer, that left them with burning sensations and sensitivity to light after they used the lamps. The eye damage is “like a sunburn to the cornea,” that is “quite painful, and takes a couple of days to heal. People often have trouble opening their eyes because they are sensitive to light and their eyes are red and itchy.”