Coronavirus In Wyoming: Resources & News

  • Alissa Eckert, MS, Dan Higgins, MAMS

Wyoming Public Media is here to keep you current on the news surrounding the coronavirus pandemic. 

The Latest News On COVID-19 In Wyoming 

Updated 5:45 p.m. 4/3/2020

There are now 166 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Wyoming, with Carbon and Laramie counties reporting additional cases on Friday.

Laramie County leads the state with 40 confirmed cases, followed by Teton County with 32 and Fremont County with 27. Carbon County reported one additional confirmed case, raising its total to 4.

Nine other counties are reporting several confirmed cases: Albany County four; Campbell County six; Converse County three; Goshen County two; Johnson County eight; Natrona County 21; Sheridan County ten; Sweetwater County three; and Washakie County two.

Sublette, Uinta, and Park Counties each have one confirmed case.

As of Friday, April 3, the Wyoming Department of Health said the Wyoming Public Health Lab has completed 2,034 tests.

Commercial labs reported completing 905 tests, and one test was completed by the CDC. The department reports that 37 people have recovered from the virus. There have been no deaths in Wyoming.

(Commercial labs are required to report positive test results to WDH; negative results are not reported consistently.)

State Orders

Governor Mark Gordon and State Health Officer Doctor Alexia Harrist are extending three statewide orders that intend to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The orders include closing schools and other public places like restaurants and bars, prohibiting groups of 10 or more from gathering in a confined space, including the outdoors through the end of April.

The governor issued a new directive that requires any person coming into Wyoming from another state or country to immediately self-quarantine for two weeks. Any visitors to the state for less than 14 days, will need to self-isolate for their entire stay. State officials say they hope this directive will discourage out of state visitor during the pandemic.

The state of Wyoming issued an order to close all non-essential personal services. The closure applies to cosmetology services including nail salons and barber shops. It will also affect massage parlors, tattoo, body art and piercing shops. 

Many restaurants remain open with carry out, delivery and drive thru service only.

The prohibition does not apply to gatherings at private residences, hotels and motels for lodging purposes, government facilities and businesses, grocery stores and retail or business establishments that can provide adequate social distance spacing of 6 feet or more. Healthcare facilities are also exempt, as are long-term care and assisted living facilities that are complying with Wyoming Department of Health and Centers for Disease Control directives.

Wyoming Public Media would like to thank and recognize all health care workers, doctors, nurses and care givers during the global pandemic.

News & Updates:

Resources:

Do you have specific questions about the virus in Wyoming, you or your family’s health, what this means for your job, your home and your town's economy? Please submit them here and we'll do our best to report the information you need.

We also want to hear from you on how your community is responding. Tell us what you're seeing, hearing and experiencing in your neighborhood, grocery store and beyond.

On social media, use the hashtag #COVID19WY.

Ways to Connect

Wyoming To Be Among Hardest Hit By Unemployment

By • 5 hours ago
Flickr Creative Commons/Menards Casper

Wyoming's unemployment rate spiked 350 percent in the last few weeks, an unprecedented rate that puts it as one of the hardest hit states in the country.

This week's Wyoming Workforce Services' report shows 4,652 new people have applied for unemployment, 900 more than the week before, and 6,010 continued claims from people who'd already filed them, 1,811 more than the week before.

How 3D Printers Are Helping Supply Wyoming Hospitals During The Pandemic

By • 6 hours ago
David Maulik

At the start of the week, Tyler Kerr was one of the few people in the office at the University of Wyoming's Student Innovation Center. He and his team had a busy weekend 3D printing 115 face masks for the Wyoming.

Places Of Faith Find Innovate Ways To Keep Members Connected

By • 6 hours ago

On a chilly but sunny day, about 60 cars are parked at the American Dream Drive-In Theatre in Powell. Where the screen usually is are a pickup trucks with one person on the back of each. This is how the Trinity Lutheran Church in Cody has been worshipping for the past two Sundays.

CDC Now Recommends Americans Consider Wearing Cloth Face Coverings In Public

By • 6 hours ago

Updated at 8:35 p.m. ET

President Trump said Friday the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now recommends that people wear cloth or fabric face coverings, which can be made at home, when entering public spaces such as grocery stores and public transit stations. It is mainly to prevent those people who have the virus — and might not know it — from spreading the infection to others.

International Students Navigate Life Under COVID-19

By • 6 hours ago
Anna Royo


Anna Royo and Maria Oreshkina were playing a tennis match in Denver when they found out that their whole athletic season came crashing to an end.

"Everything was shocking 'cause like, overnight, it was—everything was cancelled," Anna Royo said.

"Weirdest Honeymoon Ever": Couple Returns From Rafting Trip To A Changed World

By • 6 hours ago
Austin Woody

Laramie residents Shealyn and Austin Woody left for a five-day rafting trip on San Juan river in Utah on March 13. They had just eloped and wanted to celebrate that along with some birthdays while relaxing on the water.

March 13 was an important turning point in the U.S. response to COVID-19. That's when the federal government declared a national emergency and Wyoming began to see tighter restrictions. In the five days the Woody's were gone and without cellphone service, Governor Mark Gordon recommended all schools close, created coronavirus taskforces, and ordered the closure of public spaces.

As they returned to Laramie newlyweds, it was already changed.

Trump Says Hospitals Will Be Reimbursed For Treating The Uninsured

By • 8 hours ago

Updated at 7:57 p.m. ET

Just days after the White House coronavirus task force warned Americans to brace for sobering death tolls, the administration is vowing to reimburse hospitals for treating uninsured patients infected with the coronavirus.

Scientists Probe How Coronavirus Might Travel Through The Air

By • 10 hours ago

When researcher Josh Santarpia stands at the foot of a bed, taking measurements with a device that can detect tiny, invisible particles of mucus or saliva that come out of someone's mouth and move through the air, he can tell whether the bedridden person is speaking or not just by looking at the read-out on his instrument.

An At-Home Saliva-Based COVID-19 Test? Nevada Researchers Are Working On It

By editor • 11 hours ago

Researchers in the Mountain West are hoping to pioneer a new type of COVID-19 test that requires only a person’s saliva and can easily be done at home.

The Healthy Nevada Project is a community-based population health study, the largest of its kind in the world. Researchers behind the public-private partnership have collected DNA samples from the saliva of 50,000 Nevadans, with the goal of reaching a million samples statewide.

A Montanan's Websites Aim To Gather Data On Symptomatic People Who Can't Get A COVID-19 Test

By • 11 hours ago
UntestedMontana.com

With COVID-19 tests still in short supply, a Montana computer programmer created websites intended to tally the number of people in Montana and Wyoming who self-report symptoms of the disease and haven't been able to get tested.

Statewide Survey Shows Wyomingite's Coronavirus Concerns

By • 13 hours ago
cgpgrey.com under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic Liscence

A new survey conducted by the Wyoming Survey and Analysis Center found that more than half of the state's residents or their immediate family members have seen impacts to work or pay because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Coronavirus Small Business Loan Program: What You Need To Know

By • 19 hours ago

Starting today, small businesses can apply for the nearly $350 billion in loans available through the economic rescue plan from Congress.

The loan program, known as the Paycheck Protection Program, is intended to support businesses so they can ride out the tough economic times and, most importantly, assist with either keeping current workers or rehire those who were laid off.

Wyoming's First Quarantine-Friendly Art Gallery Is Helping Low Income Families

By • 23 hours ago
Jason Hammock

A new virtual gallery has made it possible for those self-distancing to still enjoy the arts. It Takes A Village is the brainchild of Cheyenne-based artist Bria Hammock and is Wyoming's first quarantine-friendly art gallery. 

U.S. Lost 701,000 Jobs In March; Much Worse To Come

By • Apr 2, 2020

Updated at 10:09 a.m. ET

For the first time in nearly a decade, the U.S. suffered a net loss of jobs as the coronavirus began to take hold in the country. But a monthly snapshot from the Labor Department shows only the first pinpricks of what will soon be a gaping wound.

Newspapers Face Existential Question: How To Cover The Pandemic When There’s No Money?

By • Apr 2, 2020

This story was powered by America Amplified, a public radio initiative. 

Sitting at his desk within the small office of the Sandpoint Reader, a weekly newspaper in northern Idaho, publisher Ben Olson is exhausted. 

Pages