Because of the Thanksgiving holiday, case counts are low due to county health offices closed for the holiday. As of Monday, November 30, 2020, Montana reports 62,198 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 369 new cases reported in the last day: 69 in Yellowstone County, 68 in Missoula County, 58 in Flathead County, 28 in Silver Bow County, 26 in Ravalli County, 25 in Lake County, and more new cases in 20 more Montana counties. Statewide, 2,622 people have been hospitalized, and 477 people are being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 16,031. The most active cases are in Yellowstone and Flathead County, Cascade, Lewis & Clark, and Missoula Counties. 681 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Ten more people have died of COVID-19 since yesterday. Nationwide, more than 268,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. There have been 13,600,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

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.

AstraZeneca and Oxford University have acknowledged a manufacturing error that has raised questions about their Covid-19 vaccine after revealing earlier this week it was “highly effective” against the disease. The company made a dosing error. On Monday, researchers said the AstraZeneca vaccine had an efficacy of up to 90 percent when half a dose was administered followed by a full dose. That efficacy rate is on par with other vaccine candidates announced by Pfizer and Moderna earlier this month. In the group that got two full doses, the vaccine appeared to be 62 percent effective. Combined, the drugmakers said the vaccine appeared to be 70 percent effective. But some of the vials used in the trial didn’t have the right concentration of vaccine so some volunteers got a half dose. The university said that it discussed the problem with regulators, and agreed to complete the late stage trial with two groups. So far only a summary of the results, not the actual data, have been released, and rigorous scrutiny by regulators will need to follow to ensure the results don’t undermine public confidence in the global effort to vaccinate billions of people.