As of Tuesday, April 20, 2021, Montana reports 107,379 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 186 new cases reported in the last day: 72 in Gallatin County, 17 in Yellowstone County, 16 in Flathead County, 15 in Cascade County, 10 in Ravalli County, and more new cases in 20 more Montana counties. The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 1,025. Currently, 66 people are being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. The most active cases are in Gallatin and Yellowstone Counties. 1,552 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Six more deaths have been reported since yesterday. Nationwide, more than 567,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. There have been 31,800,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

Otters at a Georgia Aquarium have tested positive for Covid-19. “They began exhibiting mild respiratory symptoms such as sneezing, runny noses, mild lethargy, and some began coughing,” the Aquarium in Atlanta said. it is suspected the otters may have acquired the infection from an asymptomatic staff member.

Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte announced Monday he has signed a pair of Republican-sponsored bills increasing restrictions on voter identification required to vote in Montana’s elections and ending same-day voter registration. Both measures were identified as top priorities by Republican Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen, who advocated for them as ways to boost “voter integrity” in the state’s elections. Democrats and Native American groups have argued that both bills would simply make it harder for people to vote — especially Indigenous people living on reservations, and college students.

Republican Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte said Tuesday he is ending a bison management plan that would have allowed the wide-ranging animals to be restored in more areas of the state. The idea of restoring bison to more areas of Montana has been met with enthusiasm by wildlife advocates, who have long pushed for the animals to be treated by the state as free-roaming wildlife, rather than livestock that’s subject to capture and slaughter.