Town Crier “Briefs from the Region” (2) – 9/21/20
Montana reported on Saturday that 7,553 people have recovered from COVID-19 and 2,454 cases remain active. Additionally, 104 people are hospitalized out of 567 total hospitalizations and there have been 300,840 tests administered, which is 2,285 more than reported Friday. Although this may seem like number soup, it’s notable that for the third day in a row, just two weeks after Labor Day weekend, Montana reached a new record high of COVID-19 cases, surpassing the 10,000 mark. Cascade and Roosevelt counties are among those contributing to high positive case numbers, and although the Communicable Disease and Prevention Bureau has stated that in part the increase is a result of a reporting backlog from local health departments, Jim Murphy, chief of the bureau, said the bump in cases can also be attributed to schools and universities beginning in-person classes.
