As of Thursday, January 7, 2021, Montana reports 84,750 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 713 new cases reported in the last day: 120 in Yellowstone County, 96 in Gallatin County, 88 in Missoula County, 65 in Lewis & Clark County, 54 in Flathead County, 52 in Big Horn County, and more new cases in 33 more Montana counties. The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 4,916. Statewide, 3,782 people have been hospitalized, and 208 people are being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. 44 more people were hospitalized from yesterday. The most active cases are in Yellowstone, Cascade, Lewis & Clark, and Flathead Counties. 1,038 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. 23 more deaths of Montanans were reported in the last day. Nationwide, more than 361,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. There have been 21,400,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

Faced with mounting coronavirus cases, England announces a new lockdown. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said trips outside will be allowed for only essential shopping, exercise, Covid-19 testing, medical help, escaping domestic abuse and work for those who can’t work from home. Primary, secondary schools and colleges will also have to switch to remote learning starting Tuesday. People who don’t live together are not allowed to mix, but support and childcare bubbles are still allowed. The measures announced apply only to England, where Johnson sets policy, with Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales — the other three countries in the U.K. — setting their own rules.

Earlier on Monday, Scotland announced a full, legally enforced lockdown with people ordered to stay at home for January except for essential purposes. The U.K. has topped 50,000 new daily cases for seven days in a row, recording 58,784 new cases on Monday, the highest since the pandemic started, as its publicly funded National Health Service (NHS) is under tremendous pressure from rising hospitalizations. The increase is likely fueled by a new and more transmissible variant of the virus that was first detected in England in November, prompting the government to toughen restrictions ahead of Christmas.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined presumptive Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to call on Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove President Donald Trump from office, after the president’s incitement of a crowd of supporters that violently stormed the U.S. Capitol. Pelosi said if Pence does not act, then the House would consider impeachment to remove him from office. Such a move would be largely symbolic, since there would be little time for a Senate trial before Trump’s term ends in 13 days. “What happened at the U.S. Capitol yesterday was an insurrection against the United States, incited by the president,” Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement Thursday morning. “This president should not hold office one day longer.” Under a provision of the 25th Amendment, the vice president can, with the support of the majority of the Cabinet, invoke the measure and declare Trump unfit for office, which could lead to his early removal. Under such a scenario, the vice president would immediately take over as acting president.