Local outbreak still ongoing

Wyoming is still seeing worrying statistics related to the COVID-19 pandemic as the minor outbreak in Crook County continues to linger. Eleven new confirmed cases and two probables have been identified within the county over the last week, increasing the overall totals to 57 and nine respectively.

The outbreak accounts for two thirds of the confirmed cases seen in Crook County since the pandemic began. Since mid-September, Crook County has racked up 43 confirmed infections; until that time, the county had also not experienced any probable cases.

For the first time since the pandemic arrived, Crook County Public Health was last week obliged to publish an exposure notice, which is an announcement that warns anyone who was at a specific place during a specific timeframe that they may have been exposed to the virus.

In this instance, a newly identified case was found to have been in attendance at Tuesday’s meeting of the Sundance City Council. The council chambers were unusually full during the meeting due to audience members attending for an award presentation or a public hearing; most seating was occupied, with numerous attendees also lined up along the back of the room in the early stages of the meeting.

At this time, it is not known whether the exposure has caused any new infections in Crook County. Attendees have been asked to monitor themselves for symptoms of COVID-19 until October 20.

On Friday, Governor Mark Gordon urged vigilance as new cases and hospitalizations continue to rise. Wyoming as a whole twice broke its record for new infections over the last week: on Thursday, a total of 165 confirmed cases were announced on a single day; on Friday, the new all-time high was smashed by a recorded 195 new cases.

For the first time, numbers of new cases topped 100 every day throughout the week. Active cases have also continued to rise on a daily basis, climbing from 1342 on Wednesday to 1726 on Tuesday.

Four new deaths were recorded over the last week, bringing the overall total to 57 in Wyoming. The first death announced was an older woman from Natrona County, who was hospitalized and known to have health conditions increasing her risk from the virus; the remaining three deaths were added to the state statistics on Tuesday and involved older adults all known to have health conditions in Lincoln, Washakie and Albany Counties.

Hospitalizations due to the virus have peaked at a level more than double the previous high set back in April. A total of 56 people were hospitalized within Wyoming on October 8, as compared to the previous record of 23 on April 21-22; on Tuesday, this number had fallen to 46.