State sees growing impact from COVID-19 hotspots

Crook County has only seen one new case of COVID-19 over the last week, bringing the local total to seven – a far cry from the hotspot on the opposite side of the state. In Uinta County, an outbreak linked to Memorial Day gatherings has seen a tenfold increase of over100 new cases over the last two weeks.

The outbreak is largely responsible for the daily spikes in the state’s case numbers. On Monday, 27 new cases were identified in Wyoming, the second-highest increase since COVID-19 was first diagnosed in the state; case numbers also saw relatively large increases of 17 on Sunday, 21 on Friday and 22 on Thursday.

Two more deaths have also been added to Wyoming’s tally, both residents of the Washakie County long term care facility where an outbreak was identified in May. Both were older adult women with health conditions known to put them at higher risk of serious illness.

Six residents have now died in connection with that outbreak from 16 cases among residents and 12 among facility staff. Wyoming’s total deaths from COVID-19 stands at 20.

As of the beginning of this week, three people in Uinta County had been hospitalized due to the coronavirus and two were still in intensive care. According to Uinta County Public Health, “Some new cases are close contacts of previous positive cases who have developed symptoms and been tested. Many have no direct link to a positive case.”

Urging caution at this time and a continuation of social distancing measures, Uinta County Public Health commented on Monday that, “The contact tracing we are doing makes it very clear how quickly and how inadvertently it can spread to a lot of people.”

Thanks to the Uinta County outbreak, Wyoming’s active case count had risen to 237 by the middle of last week, having at one time dropped below 200. This number sharply increased by Monday to 281.

“That makes me sad, because now we are spiking,” said Governor Mark Gordon during a press conference, stating that, as Wyomingites get out and about enjoying summer gatherings, “It is important that we remember to mind our Ps and Qs and be responsible.” He urged the public to avoid careless and reckless activities and exercise personal responsibility.

“We need Wyoming to be the safe place, not the place spiking on national television,” he said.

Dr. Alexia Harrist, state health officer, also spoke to the outbreak, saying that there has been a “particular increase” in several counties and surges in neighboring states. This, she said, illustrates how “it doesn’t take much to really change the disease picture within a community.”

“Many of the new cases there appear to be connected to a particular gathering at a public location where social distancing rules were not taken seriously,” Harrist said of the outbreak. “People exposed at the gathering then spread the virus to others who were not there.”

Harrist also noted that there have been clear examples of transmission of COVID-19 from people who were not exhibiting symptoms. She stressed that it is not possible to be sure whether the people around you are infected and urged the use of face masks and social distancing.

Harrist also pointed out that spikes can be extremely harmful to the very businesses Wyoming is trying to help recover, because it can spread through the workforce – and customer base – fast.

“This disease has not gone away, so please think of others when you make choices,” she said.

In more positive news, Gordon announced that tourism is having a positive impact on the state’s finances. Eight state parks have seen an increase in visitation of 2.5% over the five-year average and Yellowstone National Park is seeing high visitation, he said, while several communities are reporting sales tax proceeds that are better than expected.

Rodeos are also beginning to take place and have so far had “really remarkable success,” he continued, and it’s important we continue this progress to make sure the state is open and we all have the kind of summer we want to have.

The tourism trend is expected to continue through the summer, said the governor, with statistics suggesting there has been a 600% increase on sales of motor homes nationwide.

“Wyoming is the place to come. They’re coming, they’re spending money,” he said, later adding, “This is really important for our revenues.”