As of Monday, January 25, 2021, Montana reports 91,816 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 166 new cases reported in the last day: 28 in Cascade County, 23 in Lewis & Clark County, 23 in Missoula County, 15 in Flathead County, 13 in Fergus County, 13 in Yellowstone County, 10 in Gallatin County, and more new cases in 15 more Montana counties. The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 4,391. Statewide, 4,128 people have been hospitalized. Currently, 129 people are being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. The most active cases are in Yellowstone, Flathead, and Cascade Counties. 1,151 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Ten more deaths have been reported in the last two days. Nationwide, more than 419,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. There have been 25,200,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

President Joe Biden has signed restrictions on travel to the United States to mitigate Covid-19 transmission. The ban prevents most non-U.S. citizens from entry if they have recently been in South Africa, where a new strain of Covid-19 has been identified. Biden will also reinstate broader restrictions that were in effect much of the past year but were rescinded by President Donald Trump days before his term ended. The limits affect non-U.S. citizens traveling from the United Kingdom, Ireland and much of Europe in what is known as the Schengen countries, which share a common visa process. Travelers from Brazil are also included. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that, beginning Tuesday, it will no longer consider exceptions to its requirement that international travelers present negative coronavirus tests.

Budweiser will not be running a commercial during the Super Bowl for the first time in 37 years. Instead, Anheuser-Busch InBev beer will use the marketing dollars to support Covid-19 vaccine awareness and access.

Lewis and Clark County’s public health officer is expressing concern over statewide rollbacks to COVID-19 restrictions, particularly when they clash with local rules. Gov. Greg Gianforte removed statewide restrictions as of January 15 on capacity and hours of operation at bars, restaurants, casinos, breweries, distilleries and other businesses. However, restrictions on these types of businesses remain in place in Lewis and Clark County, Gallatin County, and other Montana counties, per local health rules. Drenda Niemann, health officer at Lewis and Clark Public Health, explained that Montana law allows local jurisdictions to be more strict, but not less strict, than the state when it comes to health directives. For example, Niemann said statewide face covering requirements extend to all counties regardless of any local rules or regulations.

Niemann said local restrictions will remain in place until approximately 70% of the county population is vaccinated. She hopes to accomplish this by the fall and return the area to some sense of normalcy. Until that time, she hopes businesses and individuals will continue to follow health precautions to prevent further spread of coronavirus. “Until then, masks and physical distancing are the only tools we have,” she said. “They are instruments of freedom that allows us to have businesses open.”