Reports of virus in state discredited

Rumors spread last week that coronavirus had been diagnosed in Wyoming. Crook County Public Health reassures the public that this information was incorrect and there is currently no danger of contracting the virus in this state.

“We have no diagnosed or suspected cases of coronavirus in the State of Wyoming, or in any of the adjoining states around Wyoming, at this time,” says Becky Tinsley, Crook County Public Health.

“It’s not an immediate threat here. The things that were posted [on websites based in Wyoming], we don’t even know where they came up with that information.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), coronavirus was first detected in Wuhan City and, while the vast majority of cases are confined to that region, the illness has been spreading to a growing number of international locations. The United States reported its first confirmed case on January 30 and the World Health Organization declared a public health emergency of international concern the same day.

“It’s producing pneumonia-type symptoms,” Tinsley says. Severity ranges from little to no symptoms to people becoming severely ill or dying.

According to the CDC, the virus is believed to have originated at a seafood and live animal market, suggesting it first spread from animals to humans. It can also be passed from person to person.

However, the CDC does not believe the virus is spreading within the community in the United States at this time, though several instances have been confirmed in Washington, California, Arizona, Illinois and Massachusetts. The known instances have one thing in common, Tinsley says.

“All of those cases are people who had been to that area in China where this is the most endemic,” she says.

Health authorities are working hard to combat the outbreak, Tinsley says.

“They are working on quarantining, they are working on a vaccine already and they are working on getting a solidified treatment for it,” she explains.

In the meantime, Tinsley recommends using two reputable sources to check on the status of coronavirus and find out whether any cases have been confirmed in Wyoming or nearby.

“People can go to the Wyoming Department of Health, they are keeping updates on that daily, and the CDC is doing a great job of putting out information that’s available to anybody who wants to go on their website,” she says.

“Those are the only two trustable websites to go to to look up that information.”

Tinsley also points out that, while the chances of coronavirus spreading to Wyoming seem slim, it’s not something that would take Crook County by surprise. Emergency responders and health officials have been working on their strategy in such a situation for years, she says, answering questions such as how to set up a communication chain and how to distribute treatments and vaccines.

“One of the things the State of Wyoming has been working on for a while and we’re really focusing on right now in our emergency preparedness is pandemic flu responses and what we’re going to do,” she says.

“The exercise we’ve been holding with county partners over the last few months, that’s been our focus: what do we do if we have a major outbreak? How do we make sure our first responders are protected? What do we do to take care of the general populace?”