Three new cases in CCSD2

Carbon County School District No. 2 (CCSD2) added three more positive cases over the Halloween weekend according to an announcement from CCSD2 Superintendent Jim Copeland.

As has been the case in recent weeks, this trend follows the trend of both the county and the state as Carbon County, as of Monday, had 64 active cases and Wyoming had 5,204.

The announcement from Copeland, which can be found on the school district’s website, originally announced two cases on October 31 with one in Saratoga and one in the northern part of the district. The announcement, however, was updated to include an additional positive case in Saratoga on November 1.

“These staff members are at home under quarantine per CCPH (Carbon County Public Health) orders,” wrote Copeland. “CCPH has conducted contact tracing and does not believe that any further quarantine(s) are necessary.”

Copeland added that all three staff members had followed all health department protocols by social distancing when possible and wearing masks when unable to social distance.

“We continue to have several students at home—all in our attendance area—on quarantine due to a parent or non-student sibling testing positive. COVID-19 cases across the CCSD2 area are continuing to increase, similar to the increases across the state of Wyoming in general,” Copeland wrote. “Therefore, we ask that you keep any student with a symptom home and please contact your medical provider if you or any family member experiences symptoms. Please follow all health protocols of social distancing and wearing face coverings when at school.”

The three positive cases announced over the weekend are in addition to the three announced the week before. In their daily situational debrief, the Carbon County COVID-19 Incident Management Team put the number of positive cases in the county since the pandemic began at 309 with 37 probable cases since the pandemic began. That was an increase of 30 since October 26 with 11 active cases added in the past week.

In an interview with Memorial Hospital of Carbon County (MHCC) CEO Ken Harman last week, Harman informed the Saratoga Sun that while MHCC had seen a total of six hospitalizations between March and September, the week of October 19 the hospital had seen a total of four. 

While other hospitals in the state, such as Wyoming Medical Center in Casper, are reporting being at capacity, Harman stated that MHCC was not yet at risk of that. According to Harman, MHCC could take up to 25 hospitalizations if needed but added that cases that required access to specialists were sent to regional hospitals in Wyoming or Colorado.

The 5,204 active cases announced by the State of Wyoming on Monday are included in the total number of positive cases, 12,059, since the pandemic began. Of those, 7,649 have recovered. Wyoming has also had 2,108 probable cases since March and, of those, 1,314 have recovered. A total of 87 people in Wyoming have died due to COVID related issues with 10 of those being announced on October 29.

Laramie County has had 1,480 confirmed cases and 462 probable cases since the pandemic began, Natrona County has had 1,463 confirmed cases with 304 probable cases, Albany County has had 1,456 confirmed cases and 160 probable cases, and Fremont County has had 1,349 confirmed cases and 189 probable cases.

Health officials continue to encourage following steps such as washing hands often and well, covering coughs and sneezes, cleaning and disinfecting possible contaminated surfaces and objects, and wearing face coverings or masks in public places.