No more masks required

Consider it the “Luck of the Irish”.

On March 8, Governor Mark Gordon announced in a press release that Wyoming will be removing the statewide mask mandate on March 16. Additionally, the requirements that have been in place for bars, restaurants, theaters and gyms for nearly a year will be removed as well.

Even though the statewide mask mandate is being removed, Gordon encouraged Wyoming residents to continue wearing face coverings in indoor public spaces. While the statewide order has been removed, businesses may still require masks to enter the premises. This was emphasized by the governor in the press release, as he encouraged people to “follow the best practices adopted by any business they visit to slow the spread of the virus.”

These two major announcements come as Wyoming continues through their phased vaccination approach. According to the press release, 19 percent of the state’s residents had received at least their first dose of the COVID vaccine with nearly 100,00 first doses administered statewide. Additionally, most counties had worked through phase 1b and were moving into phase 1c.

Despite the removal of the statewide mask order, children attending K-12 schools will still be required to wear face coverings.

“Wyoming is one of the few states in the country that kept students learning in the classroom for the entire school year. We made sacrifices, but the earlier orders saved lives. We persevered,” Gordon said. “With this approach we can have graduations, proms and a great end to the school year by keeping schools open. Especially since our children will not have the chance to be vaccinated this spring.”

In Carbon County, there are currently 11 active cases with three pending cases. As of March 8, there had been 4,869 Moderna vaccines administered in the county. Since the pandemic began, there had been 1,358 lab confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 120 probable cases.