COVID rises in Carbon County

In the past two weeks, Carbon County has seen a continued increase of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) as tourists pour into the state and parents prepare to resume school. According to local health officials, the number of confirmed cases since the pandemic began has reached 61 with 26 of those having recovered.

There are currently 35 active cases of COVID-19 within Carbon County.

In addition to the 61 total confirmed cases, there have also been six non-local COVID cases. Of those, five have recovered and one has passed away.

In a July 27 press release from the Wyoming Department of Corrections, it was confirmed that testing had been conducted at both the Wyoming State Penitentiary in Rawlins and the Wyoming Honor Farm in Riverton. While there had been no confirmed cases reported from the Wyoming Honor Farm, there were a total of 24 confirmed cases at the Wyoming State Penitentiary. Of those, 15 were within the inmate population, seven were among the contracted healthcare staff and two were among Wyoming State Penitentiary staff.

While there has been speculation as to how widespread COVID-19 had become in Carbon County, Jacquelin Wells, public information officer for the Carbon County COVID-19 Incident Management Team, had confirmed that there had been cases throughout the county. When asked by the Saratoga Sun, Wells had confirmed that there had been past and recent cases within the Platte Valley.

Despite the increase in confirmed cases, Carbon County is still on the low end for Wyoming when it comes to total cases. Since the pandemic began, Fremont County has had 424 confirmed cases and 64 probable cases, Laramie County has had 337 confirmed cases and 142 probable cases, and Sweetwater County has had 236 confirmed cases and 14 probable cases.

According to Wyoming Public Health, of the 2,364 total confirmed cases 1,835 have recovered. Additionally, of the 484 total probable cases 379 have recovered. There have also been 27 deaths since the start of the pandemic with one of those being assigned to Carbon County. The most recent death was that of a Fremont County woman who had previously tested positive for COVID-19.

Local health officials continue urging Carbon County residents to follow common sense steps such as washing their hands often and well, covering their coughs and sneezes, and cleaning and disinfecting surfaces and objects that may be contaminated with germs. It is also recommended that residents wear face coverings in public places.