As of Friday, October 23, 2020, Montana reports 26,503 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with the second-highest number of new coronavirus cases yet recorded in Montana, 863 new cases reported in the last day: 183 in Yellowstone County, 118 in Gallatin County, 89 in Missoula County, 62 in Flathead County, 61 in Cascade County, 38 in Lewis & Clark County, 31 in Silver Bow County, 28 in Hill County, 22 in each of Stillwater and in Valley Counties, 21 in Deer Lodge County, 20 in Fergus County, and more new cases in 30 more Montana counties. Statewide, 1,170 people have been hospitalized, and 351 people currently are being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. There are 9,610 active coronavirus cases in Montana. The most active cases are in Yellowstone, Flathead and Glacier, Missoula, Cascade, Lewis & Clark and Gallatin Counties. 282 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Nationwide, more than 223,000 Americans have died. There have been 8,500,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

The U.S. set a record Thursday for the number of new coronavirus cases. Thirteen states have added more new cases in the past week than in any other seven-day stretch. Much of the increase in cases is centered in the Midwest and Mountain States, including Montana, Idaho, and the Dakotas, that have seen record numbers of COVID-19 case numbers in the last two weeks. Public health officials attribute the spikes, in part, to in-person classes in schools, cooler weather that is forcing people indoors, as well as public pandemic fatigue. The situation in Idaho is so dire that local health officials are considering sending coronavirus patients to neighboring Washington State and Oregon because they are running out of hospital beds. Already, Montana has taken patients from North Dakota where hospitals there are full. The number of people hospitalized with the coronavirus in the U.S. has risen by 40 percent in the past month.

On Thursday, the day Montana tallied a record 932 new cases of COVID-19, Gov. Steve Bullock announced that the state will crack down on businesses that have refused to comply with masking and social distancing mandates, beginning with several in Flathead County. State health officials are seeking temporary restraining orders against five businesses in Flathead County known to be “repeat offenders” of public health orders. If a judge grants the restraining orders, “businesses will not be able to operate unless they submit a plan to implement measures to comply with the mask directive and other public health orders.” “Concerns included repeated failure by employees and patrons to wear face coverings, social distancing, and other public health measures meant to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.” Bullock said a few businesses were flagrantly violating orders and had previous complaints against them. “Just one business not complying with the public health measures puts an increased risk on everyone else who’s doing their due diligence to be safe and keep others safe,” Bullock said. “The goal here is to make sure that businesses are following the measures. We need to keep folks safe,” Bullock said. “If businesses come into compliance, we’ll gladly drop the enforcement.”

You can report concerns about COVID-19 protections that aren’t being followed. You can go to dphhs.mt.gov where there’s a link to report failures to follow public health protocols.

The Missoula City-County Health Department issued orders to close to Bodega and Monk’s Bar. Both orders noted continued noncompliance with Montana’s phase 2 directives. The Bodega order cites inadequate physical distancing between customers, standing and mingling at the bar rail and inadequate face coverings. In the Monk’s order to close, public health officials noted customers seen dancing in large groups with no distancing, drinking on the dance floor and not wearing face masks.

With ever more new cases of coronavirus, the Lewis & Clark Library Main Branch in Helena is closing effective immediately “in order to ensure the safety of staff and patrons”.