As of Wednesday, October 28, 2020, Montana reports 29,966 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 632 new cases reported in the last day: 141 in Yellowstone County, 81 in Cascade County, 77 in Gallatin County, 64 in Flathead County, 34 in Hill County, 33 in Lewis & Clark County, 24 in Ravalli County, 12 in Rosebud County, 11in Carter County, 10 in each of Lake and Missoula Counties, and more new cases in 34 more Montana counties. Statewide, 1,298 people have been hospitalized, and 374 people are currently being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. There are 10,122 active coronavirus cases in Montana. The most active cases are in the southeast part of the state in Yellowstone County, and in the northwest corner of the state in Flathead and Glacier and Missoula Counties, in the west central counties of Cascade, and Lewis & Clark, and in the southwest, Gallatin County. 325 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Nationwide, more than 227,000 Americans have died. There have been 8,850,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

The closure of the northern border between the U.S. and Canada is extended through November 30. No business or visitor travel is allowed into Canada from the U.S. Canada closed its border to non-essential personnel early in the pandemic in a successful effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus outbreak in Canada. Now, with cases spiking in the U.S., Canada is extending the border closure.

Both Germany and France announced new nationwide lockdowns on Wednesday as Europe enters a deadly new phase of the coronavirus pandemic. Germany is going to a four-week shutdown. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said, “We must act, and now, to avoid an acute national health emergency,” The four-week shutdown of restaurants, bars, cinemas, theaters and other leisure facilities is Germany’s action to curb a sharp rise in coronavirus infections. The lockdown will take effect Monday and last until the end of November. Shops and schools will remain open, with public health protocols in place. Restaurants can provide take-out food. Merkel appealed to people not to make unnecessary journeys and said hotels will not accommodate people on tourist trips.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the CDC, says it might be time to mandate masks nationwide as COVID-19 surges across the US. As cooler weather comes, people need to “double down” on measures that work, Fauci said. “Universal mask wearing” is one measure, he said, as is keeping a distance from others and frequent hand washing. “They sound very simple. But we’re not uniformly doing that and that’s one of the reasons we’re seeing these surges,” Fauci said. Covid-19 has been worsening across the United States, with cases rising in 32 states Friday and holding steady in 17 more.

The Los Angeles Dodgers won the 2020 World Series after a shortened season of just 60 games, a strange season in a pandemic year; and another strange occurrence happened in the last game: third baseman Justin Turner tested positive for coronavirus and when the results were learned during the game, Turner was pulled from the World Series-clinching game Tuesday. Turner was mysteriously taken out of the game after seven innings and wasn’t on the baseball diamond as his teammates hugged and jumped for joy immediately after the Game 6 victory. Shortly after the final out, it was revealed that Turner had tested positive for COVID-19. He was immediately isolated to prevent spread. However, several minutes after the game had ended and the championship trophy had been handed to the Dodgers, Turner was spotted on the field. For much of the post-game stroll around the field, Turner was wearing a mask. But he took it off as he sat next to his 48-year-old manager, Dave Roberts, for a team photo. The league said everyone on the Dodgers team would be tested once they returned to the team hotel. Turner’s circle of contacts will be traced, contacts notified of exposure, encouraged to be tested for coronavirus and to quarantine.

COVID-19 infections are spreading across the United States at the fastest rate since the start of the pandemic. The 71,000 new cases per day that the U.S. averaged over the past week was the most in any seven-day stretch since the crisis started. The latest surge includes Montana and its surrounding states as some of the places where cases, hospitalizations, and deaths are rising the fastest. On Tuesday, two of Montana’s 10 largest hospitals — St. Peters Health in Helena and St. Vincent Health Care in Billings — were full. And several businesses in Butte, including restaurants and bars, have again shut down after recent coronavirus cases and exposure.

And on Thursday, October 29, celebrate National Cat Day!