March 30, 2020 |
Brace for more impact. The statewide closures of schools and businesses across Wyoming in response to the spread of coronavirus will last at least until April 17, and likely longer.
Governor Mark Gordon on Friday extended the duration of the three public health orders curtailing public life two weeks beyond the original deadline of this April 3rd. The end date may be extended again.
President Donald Trump said yesterday during what has become a daily news conference on the crisis that he will make a formal announcement on Tuesday extending federal guidelines to the end of April.
The president added that it is unlikely that the regulations would be eased on regions that are reporting fewer cases than hot spots like New York, Louisiana or California.
Here in Wyoming, Governor Gordon has been taking cues on how to deal with the crisis from both the White House and the state health director, Dr. Alexia Harrist. According to her bio, before being named to her current post, Harrist was assigned to Wyoming by the Centers for Disease Control as an epidemic intelligence service officer, or disease detective. Many of her statements and policies during the past month have closely adhered to CDC guidelines.
According to the latest information from the Wyoming Department of Health, over half of the counties in the state are reporting the presence of the COVID-19 virus.
As of Monday morning, 94 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus have been identified in 15 counties. Nearly half of the reported cases have appeared in two counties. Fremont County has 24. Laramie County, including Cheyenne and Burns, has seen 20 positive results, five more since Friday.
Nearly one quarter of the reported cases – 20 of them – have recovered. No deaths have occurred in Wyoming as a result of the virus. The first case in Wyoming was confirmed on March 11th. Results from over 200 tests are still pending.
Related: Carbon County schools to resume with adopted learning plans
Click here to visit Wyoming’s COVID-19 official website
Click here to visit the Carbon County Together website for local resources
