As of Thursday, November 4, 2021, Montana reports 179,770 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 793 new cases of coronavirus infection reported since yesterday: 158 new cases in Yellowstone County, 93 new cases in Gallatin County, 70 new cases in Flathead County, 59 new cases in Missoula County, 49 new cases in Cascade County, 39 new cases in Lewis & Clark, and more new cases in 36 more Montana counties. The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 8,796. Currently, 364 people are being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. 2,405 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Nine more people’s deaths of COVID-19 have been reported since yesterday. Nationwide, more than 751,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. There have been 46,300,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

New mandates for vaccines or weekly tests for coronavirus are being implemented in the United States for big companies by Jan. 4. Tens of millions of Americans who work at companies with 100 or more employees will need to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Jan. 4 or must get tested for the virus weekly under government rules issued Thursday.

Britain granted conditional approval for the first pill shown to successfully treat COVID-19 so far. The UK is the first country to approve the treatment from drugmaker Merck. The pill is approved for adults 18 and older who have tested positive for COVID-19 and have at least one risk factor for developing severe disease, such as obesity or heart disease. Patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 can take four pills of the drug, known as molnupiravir, twice a day for five days.