I told my wife how thankful I was to have someone I enjoyed being quarantined with. She said, “Must be nice.” – Unknown

Welcome to “Thursday Numbers!” In case you are a first-time visitor, this is the weekly column where I take a look at the numbers in the news (in descending order) and provide commentary sometimes sprinkled with sarcasm and humor.

This week’s topics include unemployment, coronavirus deaths, American bald eagles, Montanans fully immunized, voter registration on Election Day, Mask Up, Rachel Levine, TWW Poll results, Claudia Conway, Biden press conference, and much more!

684,000

In the week ending March 20, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 684,000, a decrease of 97,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up by 11,000 from 770,000 to
781,000. The 4-week moving average was 736,000, a decrease of 13,000 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised up by 2,750 from 746,250 to 749,000. (DOL)

*Note: On Thursdays, this column is published right after 6:30 a.m. (Montana time), so I can post the latest unemployment numbers.

545,282

That is how many people have died in the United States from coronavirus, according to the latest data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. There are at least 545,282 deaths and 30,011,550 cases across the country so far. The first death in the USA was reported on February 29, 2020. (Johns Hopkins)

Last week the death total was 538,093.

300,000

The number of American bald eagles has quadrupled since 2009, with more than 300,000 birds soaring over the lower 48 states, government scientists said in a report Wednesday. (AP)

Good job!

163,166

That is how many Montanans have been fully immunized for COVID-19. (SOURCE)

Last week the number of fully immunized Montanans was 144,152.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Montana’s estimated population in July 2019 was 1,068,778.

That is just a small percentage of Montanans who are fully immunized. We should all be wearing masks until we have a higher percentage of fully immunized Montanans.

12,000

In the 2016 general election, about 12,000 Montana voters registered on Election Day. (MTN News)

The Republicans in the Montana Legislature want to do away with voter registration on Election Day, which is nothing more than voter suppression.

58

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 58% of American Adults say people should be required to wear masks to protect against COVID-19 until everyone is vaccinated against the coronavirus. Thirty-two percent (32%) disagree and 10% are not sure. (Rasmussen)

52-48

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday voted to approve President Joe Biden’s choice of Rachel Levine to become assistant U.S. health secretary, the first openly transgender person to be confirmed by the chamber. Despite strong opposition from Republicans, Levine was confirmed on a vote of 52-48. (Reuters)

U.S. Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) voted YEA. U.S. Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) voted NAY. (Source)

46

Here are the results from the latest poll from The Western Word that asked if you unfriend deceased friends on social media.

NO: 46%
Depends: 31%
YES: 23%

Thanks to all who participated!

16

Kellyanne Conway’s 16-year-old daughter, Claudia Conway, was eliminated from ‘American Idol’ on Monday night by judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, and Luke Bryan, following the duets round. (Yahoo)

I am heartbroken…

1

President Joe Biden will be giving his first press conference as president on Thursday, March 25, at 1:15 p.m. ET. While Mr. Biden has periodically taken questions from reporters, he has not yet had a full press conference since taking office. (CBS News)

Yawn…

## WEAR A MASK ##