As of Monday, March 8, 2021, Montana reports 100,959 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 46 new cases reported in the last day: 13 in Flathead County, 9 in Missoula County, 7 in Gallatin County, 3 in Lewis & Clark County, and more new cases in 8 more Montana counties. The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 1,601. Currently, 63 people are being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. The most active cases are in Yellowstone, Flathead, Gallatin and Missoula Counties. 1,381 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Nationwide, more than 525,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. There have been 29,100,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

Fully vaccinated Americans can gather with other vaccinated people indoors without wearing a mask or social distancing, according to long-awaited guidance from federal health officials. The recommendations also say that vaccinated people can come together in the same way with people considered at low-risk for severe disease, such as in the case of vaccinated grandparents visiting healthy children and grandchildren. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced the guidance Monday.

The $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill approved by the U.S. Senate over the weekend includes funding for Amtrak’s Empire Builder route, which runs through northern Montana and other states. Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester proposed the legislation to provide up to $166 million to reinstate furloughed Amtrak employees and restore daily service on the carrier’s routes. The bill now moves to the House where it is expected to be approved before heading to the desk of President Joe Biden to sign. The Empire Builder and other long-distance routes were cut because of a massive decline in passengers as a result of the pandemic. The Empire Builder route was reduced to operating three days a week between Chicago and Seattle and Portland, Oregon. It services a dozen communities in Montana, including Whitefish, where more than 55,000 passengers board or disembark annually. “Folks on the Hi-Line depend on Amtrak to stay connected, and its full return will boost the economy and create good-paying jobs across the region,” Tester said.

The Biden administration on Monday reversed a policy imposed under former President Donald Trump that drastically weakened the government’s power to enforce a century-old law that protects most U.S. bird species. Trump ended criminal prosecutions against companies responsible for bird deaths that could have been prevented. The move halted enforcement practices under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act in place for decades — resulting most notably in a $100 million settlement by energy company BP after the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill killed about 100,000 birds. The Department of the Interior plans to come up with new standards “that can protect migratory birds and provide certainty to industry.”