Wyoming Reports 305 COVID-19 Cases, 2 Deaths; 206 Have Recovered

The Wyoming Department of Health reported Friday afternoon that the number of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases statewide rose to 305, up eight from 296 on Thursday.

In Natrona County, the number of confirmed cases rose to 38, with 18 having recovered.

The number of positive cases in the county is probably far higher than the reported number of confirmed cases, said Casper-Natrona County Health Department spokeswoman Hailey Bloom at the Friday afternoon teleconference of the county's Emergency Operations Center.

This week, she said four epidemiologists and one laboratorian from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention came to Casper for three days and focused on containment and prevention at skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities and residential treatment facilities.

"By their nature and populations, these facilities can be hotspots for illnesses and outbreaks including COVID-19," Bloom said.

On Wednesday, she said Natrona County Health Officer Dr. Mark Dowell said the curve has not flattened, meaning that the number of cases could spike and overwhelm health care facilities. Dowell also said the effects of the disease could continue well into June, which is why people still must practice social distancing because people may be positive for COVID-19 and show no symptoms.

"We do not think we have seen the worst of this disease yet," Bloom said.

Statewide, Laramie County had the most cases at 69, followed by Teton County at 61, then Fremont County at 45.

As of Friday, the state health laboratory had completed 3,391 tests, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had completed one test, and commercial labs had completed 3,130 tests.

On Monday and Wednesday respectively, the department reported the first COVID-19-related death, a Johnson County man; and reported the second COVID-19-related death, a Laramie County man.

As of Friday, 16.4% of cases had required hospitalization, 79.3% had not required hospitalization, and the rest were unknown. (This information reflects only hospitalizations reported to the Wyoming Department of Health, therefore this information may be incomplete. This number indicates the number of patients that were ever hospitalized during their illness. It does not indicate the number of patients currently hospitalized.)

As of Friday, 39.3% of confirmed cases had underlying health conditions such as heart disease, lung disease or diabetes; 47.2% had no underlying health conditions; and the rest were unknown.

Of the lab-confirmed cases by race and ethnicity, 65.2% were white, 13.1% were Hispanic, 11.1% were American Indian, and 1.6% were black.

Most cases were in the 60-69-year age group at 20.7%; followed by the 19-29-year age group at 18%, and then the 50-59-year age group at 16.4%.

These are the cases by county. The Wyoming Health Department said the first number shows laboratory-confirmed cases; the second number shows probable cases. Probable cases are defined as close contacts of lab-confirmed cases with symptoms consistent with COVID-19.