As of Monday, August 9, 2021, Montana reports 118,270 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 395 new cases reported since Friday: 70 new cases in Cascade County, 65 new cases in Missoula County, 38 new cases in Flathead County, 38 new cases in Yellowstone County, and more new cases in 38 more Montana counties. Three-quarters of Montana’s counties report new COVID-19 cases. The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 2,166. Currently, 154 people are being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. 1,723 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Nationwide, more than 617,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. There have been 35,800,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

Health care experts are urging the public to get vaccinated in the face of the highly contagious delta variant. Dr. Eric Ascher, a physician at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City said, “In general, it’s very, very rare to get Covid after being vaccinated. If someone does have that experience, it’s going to be a very mild case, if the person even has symptoms at all.”

The Canadian border reopened for American citizens and permanent residents for the first time in 17 months on Monday with many precautions in place. Only fully vaccinated U.S. citizens or permanent residents living in the U.S. are eligible to come to Canada for non-essential purposes. The border remains closed to Canadians attempting to leave for nonessential purposes. U.S. residents attempting to cross the border must be fully vaccinated at least 14 days prior, must show a negative, non-antigen COVID-19 test and must be asymptomatic, among other requirements.

Two wildland fires have merged, prompting more evacuations. The Woods Creek Fire and Needles Fire merged Saturday into a fire complex and continued to grow Sunday, prompting the Meagher County sheriff to tell residents of Grassy Mountain Estates to evacuate, and for residents in the Ray Creek area and North Fork Road to be prepared to evacuate.