As of Sunday, January 17, 2021, Montana reports 89,393 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 341 new cases reported in the last day: 87 in Flathead County, 70 in Missoula County, 47 in Gallatin County, 26 in Yellowstone County, 21 in Lewis & Clark County, and more new cases in 22 more Montana counties. The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 5,147. Statewide, 3,962 people have been hospitalized. Currently, 172 people are being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. The most active cases are in Yellowstone, Gallatin, Lewis & Clark, Flathead, and Cascade Counties. 1,092 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Four more deaths have been reported since yesterday. Nationwide, more than 397,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. There have been 23,900,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.
Nearly one year into the pandemic, Covid-19 is spreading at record high rates in the United States, and with it, new variants of the virus are emerging. Last week, researchers in Ohio said they identified two unique variants in Columbus. Experts agree that it’s not surprising that new variants have emerged in the U.S., but stress that the virus’s unchecked transmission in the country provides ample opportunities for it to mutate. The best way, therefore, to crack down on new variants is to stop the spread,
A Montana Republican state lawmaker is targeting transgender youth with 2 new bills. State Rep. John Fuller, the bills’ sponsor, called gender-affirming care for transgender youth “barbaric.” Fuller has introduced House Bill 112, which would require athletic teams at all public educational institutions — from elementary schools to colleges — to be designated based on “biological sex.” The measure, also known as the Save Women’s Sports Act, would prohibit transgender students from joining teams that match their gender identity, no matter how long ago they transitioned. His bill would allow students to sue if they feel they’ve been deprived or harmed in some way by a trans athlete participating in school sports. Another bill penned by Fuller would bar health care professionals from providing transgender minors certain transition-related care.
Under House Bill 113, physicians and other medical professionals are prohibited from treating gender dysphoria in minors by prescribing, providing or administering puberty-suppressing drugs or cross-sex hormones (including estrogen and testosterone); performing gender-reassignment surgery; or removing “any otherwise healthy or nondiseased body part or tissue.” Penalties for providers who violate the law would include fines of up to $50,000. Chase Strangio, deputy director for transgender justice at the American Civil Liberties Union, said that after the fallout from North Carolina’s House Bill 2, conservatives pivoted away from so-called “bathroom bills” toward legislation targeting trans youth. In addition to Montana, at least six other states — including Alabama, Indiana, New Hampshire, Mississippi, Missouri and Utah — are currently considering bills levying criminal or civil penalties for offering transition care to minors, according to the ACLU.
The Montana Army National Guard sent 150 soldiers to Washington, D.C. Saturday to help provide security for the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden. The Montana Air National Guard’s 120th Airlift Wing provided three C-130s to fly the soldiers to Andrews Air Force base. The Montana soldiers could spend up to 31 days in Washington.
The main branch of the Lewis and Clark Library will be closed until further notice due to an employee testing positive for COVID-19, officials said Saturday.
They said the staff member had no contact with the public. The library is already scheduled to be closed on Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.