As of Friday, January 28, 2022. Montana reports 238,801 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 2,888 new cases of coronavirus infection reported since yesterday: 601 new cases in Yellowstone County, 372 new cases in Missoula County, 273 new cases in Lewis & Clark County, 219 new cases in Gallatin County, and more new cases in 49 more Montana counties. The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 19,817. Currently, 312 people are being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. 2,993 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Three more people’s deaths have been reported since yesterday. Nationwide, more than 878,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. There have been 73,400,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

A newly identified version of the omicron variant, nicknamed “stealth omicron,” is driving new coronavirus outbreaks in parts of Europe. The culprit is a “subvariant” of the omicron variant, which means it’s closely related to omicron but has some different mutations.

More Montanans enrolled for health insurance on the federal exchange this year than in recent years . Enrollment numbers jumped 14% for the period that ended earlier this month.

President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden have welcomed a new family cat to the White House. She is a short-haired, two-year-old gray tabby named Willow.