As of Wednesday, April 14, 2021, Montana reports 106,631 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 194 new cases reported in the last day: 84 in Gallatin County, 22 in Big Horn County, 17 in Yellowstone County, 12 in Flathead County, 11 in Lewis & Clark County, and more new cases in 13 more Montana counties. The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 997. Currently, 51 people are being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. The most active cases are in Gallatin and Yellowstone Counties. 1,526 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Nationwide, more than 563,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. There have been 31,400,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

A week after Republican Montana Governor Gianforte and his wife Susan Gianforte tested positive for coronavirus after traveling to Bozeman for Easter weekend, a member of Gianforte’s staff in the Montana capitol also tested positive for COVID-19 Monday morning after developing symptoms on Sunday.

Montana Gov. Gianforte on Tuesday issued an executive order to prohibit so-called vaccine passports in Montana. It also prohibits businesses from requiring customers to show they’ve been vaccinated or recovered from COVID-19 to receive services or enter a business, but it does carve out exceptions for nursing homes, long-term care facilities and assisted living facilities that require that documentation for residents.

A new Montana law broadening where concealed weapons can be carried with or without a permit and with no training requirement has implications for public employees working where firearms are now allowed and individual business owners who are left deciding whether to restrict firearms on their premises.