As of Friday, August 21, 2020, Montana reports 6,216 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 142 new cases reported in the last day: 51 in Yellowstone County, 17 in Flathead County, 15 in Big Horn County and in Rosebud County, 7 in each of Glacier and Missoula Counties, 4 in Cascade and in Hill County, 3 in Lake and in Lewis & Clark Counties, 2 in Fergus, Gallatin, Musselshell, and Sanders Counties, and 1 in each of Beaverhead, Carbon, Custer, Jefferson, Lincoln, Madison, Phillips, and Wibaux Counties. Statewide, 363 people have been hospitalized, and 97 people are currently being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. Yellowstone County has had 1,689 cases so far. Gallatin County has had 1,004. The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 1,329. The most active cases are in Yellowstone County, with 677 active cases. Gallatin County has 26 active cases. 89 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Nationwide, more than 175,000 Americans have died. There have been 5.6 million COVID-19 cases in the United States, and counting.

Twelve people associated with Montana State University have contracted coronavirus since the university started moving students in last week. Eight of those cases are active, said Gallatin city-county health officer Matt Kelley. The Health Department is working with the university to manage the coronavirus cases.

Outbreaks on college campuses have wreaked havoc on the fall semester. At the University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill, the week in-person classes began, four virus clusters and a rising number of cases left administrators scrambling: They quickly reversed course, announcing that all UNC-Chapel Hill undergraduate learning would be remote while residence hall occupancy would be reduced. The University of Notre Dame changed course on Tuesday as COVID-19 cases increased, suspending in-person classes for at least two weeks. Michigan State University told undergraduates not to come to campus. Columbia University, facing a backlash after pushing to bring 60 percent of undergraduates back on campus and urging professors to offer more in-person options, reversed its decision last Friday and said all fall classes would be virtual.

Republican US Senator Bill Cassidy has tested positive for COVID-19 after exposure to a person with coronavirus. The Louisiana Republican will quarantine for two weeks and notify anyone with whom he came into contact, Senator Cassidy said in a statement.

Coronavirus cases tied to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota have appeared across state lines in Nebraska. At least seven new cases in the region have been tied to the rally. The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally was a 10-day gathering that began August 7 and ran until this past Sunday. The event drew more than 460,000 vehicles, and most attendees did not wear face masks or social distance, against public health protocols to try to prevent the spread of coronavirus. South Dakota residents expressed grave concerns before the rally that it may put people at risk for contracting COVID-19, the disease associated with the virus.

Flu and COVID-19 will combine to make a LOOMING DOUBLE THREAT, say health officials, one that has prompted the US to expand access to flu shots and to tighten vaccination requirements for students, with the nation facing the prospect of flu season arriving amid another spike in the coronavirus pandemic and creating an unprecedented threat to health. It’s expected that the flu virus and coronavirus will spike this winter, when viruses transmit between and sicken more people.

A California megachurch is openly defying Los Angeles County’s coronavirus guidelines by welcoming its seven thousand congregants to worship inside the church. The church’s pastor has been painting the health department’s efforts to restrict the church’s large gatherings as a form of persecution. The megachurch initially closed its doors in mid-March and moved services online in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, but church leaders decided to reopen on July 26, defying the county’s restrictions on indoor worship services. The county’s guidelines for houses of worship allow for outdoor services that are socially distanced. Indoor services are limited to a maximum of 100 people or 25% of the building’s capacity, whichever is lower. The guidelines also require houses of worship to discontinue indoor singing and chanting because those activities can readily spread coronavirus. Indoor choir rehearsals and performances have been linked to outbreaks of COVID-19 around the world.