CASPER, Wyo. — The Wyoming Department of Health (WDH) reported 345 new laboratory confirmed cases of COVID-19 during their 3 pm Thursday, Jan. 14 update.
That brought the total to 41,628 confirmed COVID cases in Wyoming since the pandemic began. Wyoming has been adding an average of 269.3 new confirmed cases per day over the last seven days.
Statewide Thursday, 66 additional probable cases were also reported, bringing the total to 7,073.
No additional COVID related deaths were reported Thursday. The WDH announced 33 additional COVID-19 related deaths among Wyoming residents on Tuesday. There have been 522 total COVID-19 related deaths since the pandemic began. In Natrona County, 103 COVID related deaths have been reported.
COVID-19 hospitalizations rose to to 89 on Thursday, up from 82 on Wednesday. Hospitalizations dropped below 90 for the first time since October on Wednesday, according to the WDH. Wyoming saw a peak of 247 COVID-19 patients hospitalized with COVID across the state on Nov. 30.
Wyoming’s effective reproduction rate stood at 1.12 as of Thursday morning, according to Rt.live. That’s the third highest rate of any state in the country. This number reflects the average number of new cases each case is expected to create. Any time the effective reproduction rate is above 1.0, COVID-19 is expected to spread quickly.
193 new recoveries from lab confirmed cases were reported Thursday, bringing the total to 39,551. 30 additional probable case recoveries were also reported for a total of 6,576.
47 new confirmed cases were reported in Natrona County on Thursday bringing the total to 5,341 since the start of the pandemic. 35 additional probable cases brought the total to 1,680.
5,090 total recoveries from a lab confirmed case and 1,537 probable case recoveries have been reported 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. Lab confirmed cases in each county are as follows (probable cases in parentheses):
- Albany: 3,301 (338)
- Big Horn: 762 (146)
- Campbell: 4,011 (422)
- Carbon: 1,008 (77)
- Converse: 519 (360)
- Crook: 368 (31)
- Fremont: 3,643 (577)
- Goshen: 976 (89)
- Hot Springs: 229 (72)
- Johnson: 355 (223)
- Laramie: 6,535 (1,136)
- Lincoln: 905 (143)
- Natrona: 5,341 (1,680)
- Niobrara: 62 (81)
- Park: 2,224 (144)
- Platte: 334 (175)
- Sheridan: 2,223 (517)
- Sublette: 526 (106)
- Sweetwater: 3,125 (125)
- Teton: 2,504 (75)
- Uinta: 1,497 (297)
- Washakie: 663 (174)
- Weston: 517 (85)
