CASPER, Wyo. — The Wyoming Department of Health (WDH) reported 552 new lab confirmed cases of COVID-19 during their 3 pm Thursday, Dec. 3 update, carrying the state past the 30,000 total confirmed case mark.
There have now been 30,518 total confirmed coronavirus cases in Wyoming since the start of the pandemic. Confirmed cases have nearly sextupled since the start of October.
The state had seen 5,170 total confirmed cases as of Oct. 1 which climbed to 11,638 a month later.
The WDH also reported 27 additional COVID-19 related deaths among Wyoming residents on Thursday. That brings the total since the start of the pandemic to 257.
19 additional probable cases were also reported on Thursday, bringing the total to 4,560.
The WDH reported 81 new lab confirmed cases in Natrona County on Thursday. The total stands at 4,309 since the start of the pandemic. Natrona also saw six new probable cases reported, bringing the total to 982.
As of Thursday morning, Wyoming’s effective reproduction rate of the virus stood at 1.03, according to Rt.live. The number reflects the average number of new cases each case is expected to create. Anytime the effective reproduction rate is above 1.0, COVID-19 is expected to spread quickly.
1,411 new recoveries from lab confirmed cases were reported on Thursday, bringing the total to 24,524. An additional 134 probable case recoveries were also reported for a total of 3,589.
3,159 people with a lab confirmed case and 619 people with a probable case have recovered in Natrona County.
“A lab confirmed or probable case is defined as recovered when there is resolution of fever without the use of fever-reducing medications and there is improvement in respiratory symptoms (e.g. cough, shortness of breath) for 24 hours AND at least 10 days have passed since symptoms first appeared,” the WDH says. “Cases with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 who have not had any symptoms are considered recovered when at least 10 days have passed since the date of their first positive test and have had no subsequent illness provided they remain asymptomatic.”
WDH Public Information Officer Kim Deti explained that the department marks people as recovered once their isolation order date has expired. People who test positive are asked to remain in isolation until 10 days since their first symptoms or 10 days after their test was taken, or longer if they are still showing symptoms.
If people need to be isolated longer than their initial isolation period, they can contact the WDH who can extend their isolation order. Deti said that in some cases, contact tracing informs whether a case is considered recovered while in others, the department counts someone as covered after their isolation period concludes.
County-specific COVID-19 information is available from the Wyoming Department of Health. Total lab confirmed cases in each county (with probable cases in parentheses) are as follows:
- Albany: 2,909 (243)
- Big Horn: 480 (56)
- Campbell: 2,911 (260)
- Carbon: 682 (57)
- Converse: 421 (239)
- Crook: 294 (23)
- Fremont: 3,058 (403)
- Goshen: 721 (61)
- Hot Springs: 149 (13)
- Johnson: 237 (112)
- Laramie: 4,763 (792)
- Lincoln: 594 (83)
- Natrona: 4,309 (982)
- Niobrara: 53 (71)
- Park: 1,286 (117)
- Platte: 225 (119)
- Sheridan: 1,773 (321)
- Sublette: 373 (106)
- Sweetwater: 1,941 (83)
- Teton: 1,645 (48)
- Uinta: 943 (206)
- Washakie: 405 (92)
- Weston: 346 (73)
