March 31, 2020 |
With the coronavirus caseload in Wyoming reaching past the milestone mark of 100 overnight, Governor Mark Gordon said yesterday that the bug has arrived here and is likely present throughout the state.
The department of health put the number of confirmed cases at 109 across in 15 counties. Just last week, the number of confirmed cases was 26. The governor called the increase “significant.”
While hinting that a shelter in place order for the state is still an option, the governor did say he is looking at extending the current public health orders on social distancing to the end of April.
President Trump officially announced that the federal guidelines will be extended to April 30th.
Also at yesterday’s presser in Cheyenne was state health officer Doctor Alexia Harrist. The number of confirmed cases jumped last week, Harrist because of increased testing as well as the nature of the virus to spread rapidly.
Unknown sources could include contaminated surfaces or people with the virus who may not be presenting obvious symptoms. The state health officer said the best ways to avoid the virus is staying home as much as possible, not having gatherings with anyone outside your household and only having one person going to a store at one time to purchase supplies.
Some new stats were announced yesterday. Of the 109 confirmed cases in Wyoming since the first case on March 11, 24 already have recovered. Dr. Harris said 16 of the infected, required hospitalization. Harrist said she did not know what the average length of the hospital stay has been, but said at least some of the cases have been critical.
Harrist said of most of the hospitalizations occurred in Fremont County, which also has the highest number of cases at 24.
Many of the hospitalized were elderly residents from the Showboat Retirement Center, an assisted living facility, in Lander, where the virus spread like prairie fire. What the spark was that set it off may never be known, said Harrist, who is by profession a disease detective.
Community spread is a technical medical term that basically means “missing link”.
Transmission typically is defined as the passing of a disease-causing pathogen from an infected host to a person who is not infected until contact. This usually occurs through airborne droplets from a cough or sneeze. A virus can also be transmitted by direct physical contact or through common touch points.
The term “community spread” simply means the source of the infection is unknown. Dr. Harrist said while doctors are still learning about COVID-19, she resisted saying the missing link, the unknown cause, is asymptomatic transmission.
Because much is unknown about the fast-spreading novel coronavirus that behaves in unexpected ways, Governor Gordon urged residents to heed the restrictions contained in his public health orders limiting public life. He reiterated the rules to live by during this uncertain time.
Not everyone in Wyoming is following the rules. The governor described those who resist calls for social distancing as “stalwarts,” who will find themselves in the end at what he called a disadvantage.
If the disease spreads as a result of resistance to change social behavior, the governor said a “shelter in place” order would result and it would not allow for any exceptions or flexibility.
Related: Doctors address pregnancy concerns related to COVID-19
