As of Wednesday, February 10, 2021, Montana reports 96,595 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 307 new cases reported in the last day: 71 in Gallatin County, 50 in Yellowstone County, 39 in Lewis & Clark County, 33 in Missoula County, 29 in Flathead County, and more new cases in 26 more Montana counties. The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 3,027. Statewide, 4,400 people have been hospitalized. Currently, 108 people are being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. The most active cases are in Yellowstone, Flathead, Cascade, and Gallatin Counties. 1,320 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Six more deaths have been reported since yesterday. Nationwide, more than 463,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. There have been 27,000,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

Double-masking — specifically, wearing a surgical mask underneath a cloth mask — may provide an extremely high level of protection against the viral particles that cause Covid-19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Wednesday. A year into the pandemic, the report is the first from the CDC that says how well certain mask-wearing techniques work to protect wearers and those around them. Common surgical masks, often seen in blue, are one popular option. While these masks do a good job at protecting the wearer from large droplets — say, splashes of blood or other fluids — they’re less effective against tiny viral particles, because they don’t fit tightly on the wearer’s face. Surgical masks work in part because they’re made of polypropylene, which creates a tiny electric charge to capture viral particles. But the gaps that are created by improper fit leave too much room for those particles to escape or sneak in through the sides of the mask. Adding a cloth mask over the surgical mask, or knotting and tucking the mask for a tighter fit, can help eliminate those gaps.

Twitter will uphold its ban on former President Donald Trump, even if he were to run for office again, according to the social media company. Twitter CFO Ned Segal said, “Our policies are designed to make sure that people are not inciting violence. He was removed when he was president and there’d be no difference for anybody who’s a public official once they’ve been removed from the service.” Twitter was the first social media platform to take permanent action against Trump following the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, after applying an initial 12-hour suspension. Snapchat has also permanently banned Trump. Facebook continues to uphold its temporary suspension on Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts until further notice.

The Lewis and Clark County public health officer sent legislative leadership a letter saying her office had received reports from local businesses frustrated with lawmakers not following local and state health rules amid the pandemic. “We have had several businesses call frustrated and concerned regarding actions of some legislators,” wrote Drenda Niemann, the health officer. “Reports include entering businesses without a face covering and disregard for business staff’s polite requests to don a mask while in the business per state directive and local rule.” The letter did not cite specific lawmakers. Niemann said hearing from multiple businesses about misbehaving politicians was “disheartening.”

“It’s the businesses who are held accountable,” Niemann said. “They were at a loss. These businesses are frustrated and concerned.”
While the rest of the state remains under a mask mandate, legislators within their legislative chambers in the Capitol are not subject to that directive. Most Republicans are coming to the Capitol in person, and while some wear masks others have not throughout the session. Fewer Democrats are attending in-person and all have been observed wearing masks. Three lawmakers have announced they’ve tested positive for the virus since the session started Jan. 4, though one had not been in the building. At least two staff have tested positive, and there was also a positive case associated with the governor’s office last week.