Carbon County Coronavirus ready

As the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) makes its way across the globe, Wyoming has been relatively untouched by the disease which originated in Wuhan, China. During their March 3 meeting, the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) received an update on the Coronavirus from Nurse Manager Amanda Brown.

Brown informed the BOCCC that Carbon County Public Health received weekly updates via phone call from the Wyoming Department of Health. While, to date, there have been no confirmed cases within Wyoming, Brown said that the Department of Health believes it will eventually make its way to the Cowboy State.

“Right now, they’re basically saying we’re in planning mode pretty much,” said Brown.

According to Brown, the symptoms for Coronavirus are similar to that of influenza or other respiratory infections. She added that most healthy adults are able to make it through the infection on their own. As the disease makes its way across the United States, Brown said that there was still very little that the Centers for Disease Control and the Wyoming Department Health knew about it.

“The only thing we do know is that there are some common sense steps to follow when handling any illness. That’s avoiding people who are sick, stay home if you are sick, cover your nose and your mouth when you’re coughing or sneezing, avoid touching your face, always try to wash your hands,” Brown said. “That’s the biggest thing they’re pushing right now is just wash your hands as much as possible.”

She added that Carbon County Public Health had been informed of what steps to take by the Department of Health should someone in the county test positive for Coronavirus.

“I think our biggest concern right now is still flu,” said Brown.

Indeed, according to a March 8 article from The New York Times, deaths in the United States attributed to the Coronavirus have been estimated at 22 with approximately 500 confirmed cases. The number of flu illnesses in the United States, meanwhile, is estimated between 34 million and 49 million according to the Centers for Disease Control. Additionally, 20,000 to 52,000 deaths in the United States between October 2019 and February 2019 have been attributed to flu illnesses.

While none of the commissioners had any questions for Brown, Carbon County Attorney Ashley Mayfield-Davis brought up reports on the national news of school closures to prevent the spread of the virus.

“Some of the things they’re talking about in the national news is the idea of shutting down schools. If it hits Carbon County and it’s to that degree, do we have teams in place that would work on making those decisions with healthcare, with the school district, with the county to try to limit its spread?” asked Mayfield-Davis.

Brown informed Mayfield-Davis that if the Coronavirus were to make it to Wyoming and be as problematic as the Department of Health was expecting, Carbon County Public Health would work with the Local Emergency Planning Committee and the BOCCC.

“If this does make it to Wyoming and it gets as big as they’re thinking it might, that might happen and public health and first responders and healthcare, we’re going to be pretty overwhelmed,” Brown said. “It’s not going to happen tomorrow.”

According to the Wyoming Department of Health website, the Wyoming Public Health Laboratory began testing for COVID-19 on March 5. The website goes on to read that any testing for COVID-19 by the Wyoming Public Health Laboratory must be submitted through a healthcare provider.

The next meeting of the Board of Carbon County Commissioners will be at 9 a.m. on March 17 at the Carbon County Courthouse in Rawlins.