CASPER, Wyo. — The Wyoming Department of Health (WDH) reported 158 new lab confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state during their 3 pm Tuesday, Dec. 22 update.
There have now been 36,550 total confirmed COVID cases in Wyoming since the start of the pandemic. 103 additional probable cases were also reported Tuesday, bringing the total to 5,829.
Wyoming has been adding an average of 269.6 new confirmed cases per day over the last seven days.
The WDH reported 22 additional COVID related deaths among Wyoming residents on Tuesday. That brings the total since the start of the pandemic to 373.
There were 161 COVID-19 patients in Wyoming hospitals on Monday, down one from Sunday and down compated to the peak of 247 patients seen on Nov. 30. The WDH had not updated COVID-19 hospitalization data for Tuesday as of 3 pm.
As of Tuesday morning, Wyoming’s effective reproduction rate of the virus stood at 0.86, according to Rt.live. This number reflects the average number of new cases each case is expected to create. Anytime the effective reproduction rate is above 1.0, COVID-19 is expected to spread quickly.
227 new recoveries from lab confirmed cases were reported statewide on Tuesday, bringing the total to 34,711. An additional 81 probable case recoveries were also reported for a total of 5,417.
The WDH reported 20 new confirmed cases in Laramie County on Tuesday. Natrona has seen 5.084 confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic. .
“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. Total lab confirmed cases in each county (with probable cases in parentheses) are as follows:
- Albany: 3,119 (288)
- Big Horn: 613 (89)
- Campbell: 3,660 (349)
- Carbon: 838 (69)
- Converse: 451 (304)
- Crook: 348 (25)
- Fremont: 3,380 (476)
- Goshen: 881 (76)
- Hot Springs: 188 (25)
- Johnson: 317 (189)
- Laramie: 5,804 (977)
- Lincoln: 748 (92)
- Natrona: 4,865 (1,365)
- Niobrara: 60 (77)
- Park: 1,710 (132)
- Platte: 278 (137)
- Sheridan: 2,021 (405)
- Sublette: 474 (101)
- Sweetwater: 2,663 (117)
- Teton: 1,976 (57)
- Uinta: 1,217 (243)
- Washakie: 563 (157)
- Weston: 376 (79)
This article originally appeared on Oil City News. Used with permission.
The Wyoming Department of Health provides COVID-19 case, variant, death, testing, hospital and vaccine data online. The department also shares information about how the data can be interpreted. COVID-19 safety recommendations are available from the CDC.
