The state coronavirus reporting systems were being updated on Monday and so no cases, hospitalizations, or deaths were reported Monday, April 5, 2021. 1,466 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Nationwide, more than 554,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. There have been 30,700,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

Republican Montana Governor Greg Gianforte tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday. Gianforte, who took office in January, had mild symptoms Sunday and was tested Monday in Gallatin County. He received the positive result later in the day. Gianforte, 59, will quarantine for 10 days, following his doctor’s and public health guidance. He will work from his home in Bozeman during that time. The last public events Gianforte held were Thursday evening. He has been in close contact with staff members, members of his protective detail, family members, and friends who he had dinner with. Gianforte’s staff will be tested Tuesday. Last Thursday, Gianforte received his first dose of the Pfizer vaccine at a Helena pharmacy. While the Pfizer vaccine is about 95% effective a person does not get immunity until two weeks after their second dose, meaning Gianforte contracted COVID-19 and then tested positive before immunity would have taken effect. A press release said it’s not known how Gianforte contracted the virus, but the governor’s office is in the capitol building in Helena, which also houses the Montana Legislature. This legislative session, the Republican majorities in the House and Senate have refused to employ or enforce public health measures, and legislators, staff, and lobbyists have contracted COVID-19. In February, after the Legislature passed a bill to give businesses and others legal protections from allowing exposure to the virus and the state began vaccinate those most vulnerable, Gianforte lifted the statewide mask mandate. Gianforte campaigned on personal responsibly over government measures. While the governor has been seen wearing masks in some events, he has also posted photos to his Twitter account with others indoors and unmasked.

A trio of earthquakes rattled the Los Angeles area early Monday morning with the largest reaching a 4.0 magnitude on the Richter scale. Two earthquakes with magnitudes of 3.3 and 2.5 jolted the area around 4:15 a.m. PT before the largest jolt occurred around 4:44 a.m. PT, centered in the Lennox area, according to the United States Geological Survey. The large temblor was felt across Southern California.

Arkansas’ Republican governor on Monday vetoed an anti-transgender health care bill that would’ve prohibited physicians in the state from providing gender-affirming “procedures” for trans people under age 18. Gov. Asa Hutchinson told reporters that he killed HB 1570 because the bill “would be and is a vast government overreach” and because it would’ve created “new standards of legislative interference with physicians and parents as they deal with some of the most complex and sensitive matters involving young people.” The governor called the legislation “a product of the cultural war in America,” adding that his veto comes even though he believed the bill was “well-intended.” The governor predicted during his remarks that the state’s Republican-controlled General Assembly “will likely override” his veto, noting it takes only a simple majority to do so. Hutchinson’s move comes as Republican politicians around the country push anti-trans legislation, including in this Montana Legislative Session, where two anti-transgender bills are expected to pass into law.

Former Montana Gov. Stan Stephens has died. He was 91. Stephens died Saturday in Kalispell after several months of ill health. Stephens, a Republican, served as the state’s 20th governor for a single term from 1989 to 1993. He was born in Calgary, Canada and moved to Montana when he was 19. Prior to his tenure as governor, Stephens was a member of the Montana Senate representing Havre for 16 years beginning in 1969. During that time, he served as majority leader and senate president.