As of Monday, June 22, 2020, Montana reports 734 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with seventeen new cases reported in the last day: four cases in Big Horn County and Gallatin County, two each in Carbon, Flathead, and Yellowstone County, and one new case in each of, Lake, Lewis & Clark, and Stillwater Counties. Statewide, 89 people have been hospitalized, and thirteen people currently are being treated in the hospital for COVID-19. Gallatin County has had 213 cases so far. Sadly, another person has died in Montana of COVID-19, bringing the total to 21 people. Nationwide, more than 122,000 Americans have died.

The World Health Organization reports that more than 183,000 new coronavirus cases worldwide were reported in the past 24-hour period,, easily the most in a single day so far. In Europe, Sweden’s Scandinavian neighbors have all closed their borders to Swedes, fearing the country’s lax approach to combating the coronavirus. The U.S., with 4.3 percent of the world’s population, accounted for 20 percent of all the new infections worldwide. New cases continued to surge over the weekend in 22 states, especially in the South and West, including Montana.

After a stay-at-home order in Montana from March 28 to April 26, Montana showed good results in coronavirus numbers, reporting zero to two new cases a day for the first two weeks of May. But in reopening some functions of society in Montana, in just the past five days, Montana has seen 106 new cases. 32 new cases of COVID-19 in Montana reported on Saturday mark the second highest single-day tally, behind the state high of 35 cases reported on March 26.