As of Wednesday, October 14, 2020, Montana reports 20,210 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 668 new cases reported in the last day: 117 in Cascade County, 81 in Yellowstone County, 76 in Flathead County, 74 in Missoula County, 65 in Gallatin County, 36 in Hill County, 27 in Ravalli County, 22 in both Big Horn and Lewis and Clark Counties, 19 in Glacier County, and more new cases in 30 more Montana counties. Statewide, 920 people have been hospitalized, and 292 people are currently being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. At least half of all hospital beds in 27 Montana counties are full. In Lincoln and in Flathead County, inpatient hospital beds are completely full. In Yellowstone, Musselshell and Custer counties, hospitals are at least 90 percent full. Refrigerated morgue trucks have been brought in by Billings Clinic to handle escalating deaths and lack of resources due to COVID. There are 7,917 active coronavirus cases in Montana. The most active cases are in Yellowstone, Flathead, Missoula, Cascade, and Gallatin Counties. 225 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Nationwide, more than 216,000 Americans have died. There have been 7,890,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

President Donald Trump’s youngest son, Barron, 14, contracted coronavirus earlier this month at the same time President Trump and first lady Melania Trump contracted coronavirus. Melania Trump said she experienced a “roller coaster of symptoms” with her illness of COVID-19, including body aches, a cough, headaches, and feeling extremely tired. In addition to the president, first lady, and their teenage son, about 20 people close to the president and three Republican senators tested positive for the virus. Many of those who tested positive were at a Rose Garden ceremony late last month to announce the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.

Montana had the third-highest rate of new cases per capita last week and the second-highest test positivity rate in the country, at 10.1%State officials have said the increase in cases is caused by schools reopening, holiday weekend gatherings and the continuing spread of the virus in congregate living settings, such as nursing homes and jails. Hospital beds are filling in Montana with coronavirus patients. Silver Bow, Lincoln, Lewis and Clark, and Dawson counties are nearing capacity, and Gallatin, Yellowstone, Granite, Broadwater and several other counties are nearing capacity for hospitalized patients. In Montana, a total of 101 intensive care unit beds and 318 ventilators are available.

Yellowstone County reported three more deaths on Tuesday, and the county has implemented greater limits on public or private gatherings, to be no more than 25 people, inside or outside. Mask-wearing and physical distancing is still be required. Yellowstone County commissioners canceled all events planned at MetraPark, a public events center in Billings, through Nov. 9. Flathead County also is recommending 25% capacity for bars, restaurants and churches and limiting gatherings to no more than 25 people.

Cascade County reported four deaths Tuesday night. They are two women in their 70s, a man in his 70s and a man his 80s. Three deaths were also reported out of Hill County, and another three deaths in Roosevelt County, where 13 people have died of coronavirus.

In Toole county, a private prison in Shelby, the Crossroads Correctional Facility, now has positive COVID-19 tests from a third of its inmates. 201 of 586 inmates have tested positive for the disease, making it by far the facility with the greatest number of cases among individuals in custody in Montana. A plan issued by the Montana Department of Corrections in June calls for any inmates known to have the virus to be isolated, ideally in a single unit cell. If too many inmates tested positive to allow for that, the plan said individuals would be isolated in cohort groups. Health staff would determine which individuals could be housed together based on risk factors.

The Missoula Club was shut down by the Missoula City-County Health Department Tuesday for failing to comply with the Governor’s phase 2 requirements for bars. Neither employees nor patrons were consistently wearing masks, patrons weren’t maintaining a six foot distance from others and crowds of people were standing in groups around the bar.