As of Tuesday, August 24, 2021, Montana reports 123,674 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 720 new cases reported in the last day: 166 new cases in Yellowstone County, 136 new cases in Flathead County, 85 new cases in Missoula County, 76 new cases in Gallatin County, and more new cases in 41 more Montana counties. The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 3,899. All of Montana’s 56 counties report active coronavirus cases. Currently, 239 people are being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. More than 90% of the people hospitalized for COVID-19 are unvaccinated. 1,768 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Eight more people have died of COVID-19 since yesterday. Nationwide, more than 630,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. There have been 38,000,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

Schools and universities across Montana are reinstating mask requirements. The Bozeman School Board Monday night voted to approve an emergency declaration requiring face masks. The mask mandate is effective immediately; Bozeman students return back to school next week and must wear masks, along with staff, visitors, and anyone in schools.

The commission tasked with dividing Montana into two U.S. Congressional districts for the first time since the 1980s has a Nov. 14 deadline to submit a final district map to Montana’s secretary of state. The five-member Montana Districting and Apportionment Commission received 2020 U.S. census data at a meeting last week, kicking off a 90-day process for drawing new congressional districts for the first time since Montana lost its second seat in the U.S. House of Representatives after the 1990 census.

Fishing restrictions have now been lifted on a number of waterways across the state, including the Gallatin, East Gallatin, Yellowstone and Madison rivers. Wet weather and cooler temperatures in the past week prompted Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks to remove fishing restrictions on more than a dozen rivers and creeks across the state, opening hundreds of miles to anglers.