As of Tuesday, March 1, 2022, Montana reports 267,231 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 590 new cases of coronavirus infection reported since yesterday: 223 new cases in Cascade County, 166 new cases in Flathead County, 37 new cases in Gallatin County, 31 new cases in Missoula County, 24 new cases in Yellowstone County, and more new cases in 31 more Montana counties. The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 1,390. Of Montana’s 56 counties, 49 report active cases. Currently, 115 people are being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. 3,189 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Nationwide, more than 949,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. There have been 78,900,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

Republican Montana Governor Greg Gianforte’s administration has failed to distribute millions of dollars in COVID relief money. Last summer, Montana created a list of more than a dozen upgrades for its state prison facilities to protect inmates and staffers from COVID-19 infections, all of which would be paid for with nearly $2.5 million in federal COVID relief money. But that money, part of $700 million in aid to states to detect and mitigate COVID’s spread in prisons, jails and other confinement facilities, sits untouched.

Logan Health in Kalispell has notified patients of a data breach. In a notice posted to its website and in letters sent to patients dated Feb. 18, Logan says that on Nov. 22, 2021 it discovered suspicious activity that included unauthorized access to a server used for business operations. The information accessed may be different for each patient, including “name, address, medical record number, date of birth, telephone number, email address, insurance claim information, date(s) of service, treating/referring physician, medical bill account number and/or health insurance information.”