As of Wednesday, September 23, 2020, Montana reports 10,912 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 214 new cases reported in the last day: 45 in Yellowstone County, 21 in Rosebud County, 20 in Flathead County, 19 in Cascade County, 15 in Gallatin County, 14 in Roosevelt County, 9 in each of Big Horn, Hill,and Lewis & Clark Counties, 7 in Chouteau County, 6 in Custer and in Silver Bow Counties, 5 in Lake County, 4 in Blaine County, 3 in each of Carbon, Fergus, and Park Counties, 2 in each of Glacier, Jefferson, Powder River, and Sweet Grass Counties, and 1 in each of eight more Montana counties: Beaverhead, Daniels, Dawson, Missoula, Phillips, Stillwater, Teton, and Wheatland Counties. Statewide, 601 people have been hospitalized, and 124 people currently are being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. Yellowstone County has had 2,927 cases so far. Gallatin County has had 1,247. The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 2,237. The most active cases are in Yellowstone County, with 676 active cases. Gallatin County has 83. 165 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Nationwide, more than 201,000 Americans have died. There have been 6,930,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

A Florida teacher’s aide who worked with special needs students, and her brother, a paramedic, died from the coronavirus one day apart. Shyla Pennington, 41, a teacher’s assistant with the Volusia County School District in Florida, died Sept. 19, just one day before the death of her brother, Gerald Jones, a paramedic for the county, just this past Sunday. Gerald was 51. The county sheriff posted about the deaths of the brother and sister, who he said worked on the front lines to serve others during the pandemic.

The University of Houston’s home football game against North Texas scheduled for this Saturday has been canceled due to COVID-19 cases and “subsequent contact tracing” among the North Texas football team. North Texas said it received four positive tests this week and the contact tracing that followed left it “unable to field a team for a game this week.” Houston has yet to play a football game this season. The Houston Cougars have now lost five games, including four season-openers, against Washington State, Rice, Memphis, Baylor and now North Texas, all because of coronavirus cases. Notre Dame’s trip to Wake Forest is also canceled because of coronavirus cases. And the Tulsa vs. Arkansas State football game is also postponed. It’s the second straight week Arkansas State has called off a game. The Red Wolves’ game against Central Arkansas was also postponed. Arkansas State said it is “unable to assemble a two-deep depth chart at one position group that would allow the game to be played safely.” This is a result of a combination of positive coronavirus tests on Monday and other players still displaying symptoms. There have now been 20 FBS games canceled or postponed due to COVID-19 issues thus far in the 2020 college football season.