HELENA — There were 1,144 new COVID cases reported in Montana on Thursday, September 23, with a current total of 10,842 active cases in the state, according to the Montana Department of Public Health & Human Services (DPHHS). Information from DPHHS at this point does not include data on whether new cases occurred among vaccinated or unvaccinated people.
The number of Montanans who have died due to COVID is now 1,930, an increase of 16 since Wednesday, according to DPHHS.
The number of people currently hospitalized due to COVID is 402, an increase of seven since Wednesday. The cumulative number of hospitalizations in Montana due to the virus is 7,258.
An estimated 52% of eligible residents are now vaccinated, with 482,322 Montanans now considered fully vaccinated. If you want to get vaccinated, contact your county health department, or click here.
COUNTIES WITH THE MOST NEW CASES
- Gallatin County: 176 New, 849 Active
- Yellowstone County: 157 New, 2,461 Active
- Missoula County: 117 New, 1,274 Active
- Flathead County: 106 New, 1,046 Active
- Cascade County: 76 New, 1,236 Active
- Silver Bow County: 59 New, 232 Active
- Lewis and Clark County: 54 New, 596 Active
- Beaverhead County: 43 New, 144 Active
- Lincoln County: 34 New, 311 Active
- Sanders County: 34 New, 148 Active
There have been 145,000 cumulative cases of COVID in Montana. The cumulative number of recoveries is now 132,228. There have been 9,661 COVID tests administered since Wednesday.
The information above is from the DPHHS website and is current as of Thursday, September 23, 2021. The state website has county-specific data on vaccination rates, new/total cases, and more.
- COVID mitigation options limited due to new state laws
- New DPHHS rule aims to ease strain on MT hospitals
- MT Board of Pharmacy issues rule to help with vaccines
Governor Greg Gianforte announced this week he is sending Montana National Guard troops to several hospitals to help with their COVID response:
- 10 to St. Peter's Health in Helena
- 10 to Billings Clinic (already has 10 Guard members)
- 6 to St. James Healthcare in Butte
- 10 to St. Vincent Healthcare in Billings
- 24 to Missoula County
- 10 to Bozeman Health
- 20 to Benefis Health System in Great Falls
The Guard members will support staffing with non-medical ICU assistance, environmental services, patient data entry, and COVID testing, according to the governor's office.
Montana is not the only state deploying National Guard troops to help hospitals - other states include Idaho, Wyoming, Oregon, Kentucky, and Tennessee.