As of Sunday, October 25, 2020, Montana reports 27,880 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with the third-highest number of new cases reported in Montana, 746, in the last day: 147 in Yellowstone County, 113 in Gallatin County, 89 in Missoula County, 70 in Flathead County, 31 in Hill County, 26 in Lake County, 22 in each of Custer, Lewis & Clark, and Richland Counties, and more new cases in 29 more Montana counties. Statewide, 1,229 people have been hospitalized, and 357 people are currently being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. There are 9,751 active coronavirus cases in Montana. The most active cases are in Yellowstone, Flathead and Glacier, Missoula, Cascade, and Gallatin Counties. 297 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Nationwide, more than 225,000 Americans have died. There have been 8,690,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

Four of Vice President Mike Pence’s advisers, including his chief of staff and senior political adviser, have tested positive for COVID-19. Pence’s office said in a statement Saturday night that his chief of staff, Marc Short, “began quarantine” after learning of the diagnosis and that a contact-tracing effort is ongoing. Vice President Mike Pence and Karin Pence both tested negative for COVID-19, so far. Pence still plans to travel to North Carolina on Sunday. Pence’s senior political adviser, Marty Obst, also tested positive. Obst was at the debate in Salt Lake City with Pence Oct. 7, posing maskless with him and others after the event.

Health experts are voicing concerns about the looming combination of colder weather and holiday gatherings, which have the potential to contribute to a massive rise in coronavirus infections. Covid-19 cases are rising across nearly 75 percent of the country — a “distressing trend,” said Dr. Jay Butler, deputy director for infectious diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Wednesday. “Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, I see potentially six weeks of superspreader events.” A superspreader event refers to a situation in which a gathering of people results in a large number of infections. Gregg Gonsalves, Ph.D., an epidemiologist at Yale, said that while he didn’t want to be “the Grinch who stole Christmas,” it may not be safe to celebrate the holidays with large family gatherings this year. “It’s the height of flu season, and we’ve seen research that family gatherings even in the summer have been a source of outbreaks,” he said.

Many of the annual Halloween trick-or-treating events in Bozeman have been canceled because of the recent rise in COVID-19 cases in Montana and Gallatin County. The Bozeman Downtown Bozeman Association announced that its annual trick-or-treating event scheduled for Oct. 30 is canceled. In the past, the two-hour hunt trick-or-treating at downtown businesses drew more than 5,000 kids and parents. Montana’s health protocols to try to prevent the spread of coronavirus limit group gatherings to fewer than 50 people. Trick-or-treating at the mall has been canceled. In past years, Montana State University has invited costumed kids onto campus to trick-or-treat in some of the residence halls. At first, that event was going to be a drive-through trick-or-treating on Oct. 30. But because of the rise of COVID-19 cases in Gallatin County, the drive-through trick-or-treating has also been canceled. The Story Mill Mansion’s annual Witches’ Night at the Mansion is also been canceled.

Some tips for trick-or-treating safely this year include wearing a mask, trick-or-treating in small groups and giving other groups extra space when waiting to get candy. For those handing candy out, set up outside to help keep groups from bottlenecking near the doorway or on a porch, or set out small piles of candy instead of having all kids grab out of one big bowl.