As of Tuesday, September 29, 2020, Montana reports 12,724 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 321 new cases reported in the last day: 58 in Missoula County, 52 in Flathead County, 33 in Lewis & Clark County, 28 in Cascade County, 26 in Glacier County, 17 in Big Horn County, 12 in each of Gallatin, Pondera, and Yellowstone Counties, 9 in Beaverhead County, 8 in Ravalli County, 7 in Blaine County, 6 in each of Hill, Lincoln, and Madison Counties, 4 in Lake and in Stillwater County, 3 in each of Carter, Roosevelt, and Silver Bow Counties, 2 in Carbon and in Wheatland County, and 1 in each of eight more Montana counties. Statewide, 709 people have been hospitalized, and 166 people are currently being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. Yellowstone County has had 3,256 cases so far. Gallatin County has had 1,380. The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 3,454. The most active cases are in Yellowstone County, with 832 active cases. Gallatin County has 132. 177 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Nationwide, more than 205,000 Americans have died. There have been 7,180,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

A study by the CDC finds that teenagers are twice as likely to be diagnosed with COVID-19 than younger kids. The overall number of pediatric COVID-19 cases in the United States has soared past 600,000. The new CDC report focused on 277,285 infections among school-age children between March 1 and mid-September. The majority of COVID-19 cases in kids, 63 percent, were over age 12. 37 percent of COVID-19 cases in kids were between the ages of 5 and 11. It’s unclear why older children may be more affected by COVID-19 than younger children. It may be that parents have more control over younger children, while teens may be more likely to mix socially, increasing the risk of spread. Cases were split almost evenly between boys and girls. But those with an underlying chronic condition — especially a lung problem, like asthma — were more at risk. A pediatric infectious disease specialist at Boston Children’s Hospital, said, “the numbers are small, but those deaths could have been prevented.”

The NFL’s Tennessee Titans and Minnesota Vikings have shut down in-person activities after the NFL’s first COVID-19 outbreak. Two days after the Titans played in Minneapolis, the Tennessee Titans came home with positive tests in three players and five staffers, forcing two NFL teams off the practice field on Tuesday. Both the Titans and Minnesota Vikings, who hosted this past Sunday in Minneapolis, “will suspend in-person practices, workouts, and play. The Vikings said that, as of Tuesday morning, no positive tests results had yet been received for anyone with the Vikings, but some test results are pending.