As of Wednesday, October 20, 2021, Montana reports 168,513 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 1,250 new cases of coronavirus infection reported since yesterday: 252 new cases in Yellowstone County, 184 new cases in Gallatin County, 153 new cases in Flathead County, 130 new cases in Missoula County, and more new cases in 39 more Montana counties. The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 11,044. Every one of Montana’s 56 counties reports active cases. Currently, 446 people are being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. 2,225 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Nineteen more people have died of COVID-19 in Montana since yesterday. Nationwide, more than 728,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. There have been 45,100,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

The Biden administration has announced its plan for vaccinating children ages 5 to 11 ahead of the FDA’s anticipated emergency use authorization of the Pfizer vaccine for kids in that age range. The administration has procured enough vaccine for 28 million children of that age group, which will be given by more than 25,000 pediatric and primary care providers.

Facebook is planning to change its name to one focused on the metaverse, the Verge reported on Tuesday, as Facebook comes under fire from regulators around the world over its business practices. Facebook plans to announce its new name next week.

Montana leads the country as the COVID hotspot. Ours is the state with the highest number of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people. The New York Times COVID tracker moved Montana into the top slot as the state hit 97 cases per 100,000 people per day. Neighboring states Idaho and Wyoming follow with 78 cases and 75 cases per 100,000 people respectively. Alaska, which had been number one over the weekend, has moved down to fourth in the country.