CASPER, Wyo. — The Wyoming Department of Health (WDH) reported 14 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 since Friday during their 9 am Sunday, Feb. 14 update.
After a steady decline in cases, Governor Mark Gordon announced further relaxed restrictions on gatherings and capacity limits for sporting events, artistic performances, restaurants and gyms, while the state’s mask mandate will remain in place. The new orders will go into effect Monday.
“We are making good progress against this virus,” Gordon said last week in a release.
There have been 45,225 total confirmed cases in Wyoming since the pandemic began. Wyoming has seen an average of 67.1 new confirmed cases per day over the last seven days. 51 new probable cases were reported, bringing the total to 7,875.
Hospitalizations in Wyoming rose by three to 44 on Friday, according to the latest data from WDH. Hospitalizations peaked on Nov. 30, 2020, with 247 COVID-19 patients in hospitals across the state.
23 additional deaths related to COVID were reported Tuesday, including four in Natrona County. Wyoming has now seen 647 total COVID related deaths among the state’s residents since the pandemic began. Natrona County has seen 125 COVID related deaths.
No new confirmed cases were reported in Natrona on Sunday, and the total was revised by by eight to 5,738. Probable cases stood at 1,878.
Statewide, 44,045 people have recovered from a confirmed case of COVID-19 and 7,671 with a probable case have recovered, with 76 new combined recoveries since Friday. In Natrona, 5,570 confirmed case recoveries and 1,823 probable cases recoveries have been reported.
“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.
The Atlantic’s COVID Tracking Project announced this week that it will no longer track the effective reproduction rate in favor of other metrics.
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: 3,485 (369)
- Big Horn: 853 (181)
- Campbell: 4,158 (476)
- Carbon: 1,228 (118)
- Converse: 519 (422)
- Crook: 384 (33)
- Fremont: 3,975 (708)
- Goshen: 1,042 (90)
- Hot Springs: 264 (93)
- Johnson: 400 (215)
- Laramie: 6,852 (1,216)
- Lincoln: 1,013 (156)
- Natrona: 5,736 (1,878)
- Niobrara: 64 (83)
- Park: 2,421 (147)
- Platte: 371 (193)
- Sheridan: 2,358 (610)
- Sublette: 543 (125)
- Sweetwater: 3,457 (138)
- Teton: 3,203 (75)
- Uinta: 1,685 (309)
- Washakie: 688 (185)
- Weston: 526 (91)
