As of Monday, January 3, 2022, Montana reports 198,520 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 815 new cases of coronavirus infection reported since last Thursday: 195 new cases in Missoula County, 112 new cases in Yellowstone County, 85 new cases in Gallatin County, 73 new cases in Lewis & Clark County, 65 new cases in Flathead County, and more new cases in 35 more Montana counties. The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 3,104. Currently, 127 people are being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. 2,908 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Nationwide, more than 824,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. There have been 55,100,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.
Gallatin County’s weekly average of COVID-19 cases increased 108% last week amid a nationwide surge. Gallatin County leads Montana in case counts — and has had the most daily cases every day last week. Gallatin County’s increase in cases mirrors a state and nationwide trend. The U.S. has seen the highest level of new cases on record over the last few weeks, tallying over 265,000 per day on average. As of Monday, eight out of 10 of Montana’s largest hospitals have limited bed availability, and six of the 10 largest hospitals are at 60% capacity or greater in their ICUs. That includes Bozeman Deaconess Hospital, whose critical care unit was at 95% capacity last Thursday.
Montana’s minimum wage increased 45 cents per hour on January 1st, with the Montana minimum wage increasing from $8.75 per hour to $9.20 per hour. And Montana isn’t alone: 21 states and 35 cities and counties across the country started the new year by raising their minimum wages.
The State of Montana has spent at least $119,000 defending against legal challenges to laws passed during the 2021 legislative session.
But that $119,000 is an undercount of the actual amount of public funds used to defend against lawsuits seeking to overturn new laws. All of the laws under legal challenge were brought by Republicans in the state’s Republican majority Legislature, and the laws passed almost always along party lines.