Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon announced Monday that the current public health orders are being extended through July 31 as the state continues to see an increase in cases of coronavirus. Over the past 14 days, Wyoming has averaged 27 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 per day, with 342 new cases confirmed since July 1. From June 15 through the 30, there were 328 lab-confirmed cases reported. On Monday, the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations reported by Wyoming hospitals was 17, the most hospitalizations reported since April 22. While the total numbers of tests completed has continued to grow in Wyoming, the percentage of tests that come back positive for COVID-19 has remained steady with a cumulative total average of 2.9 percent.
Governor Gordon said in a news release that he’s disappointed that we continue to see the case numbers rise and that Wyoming residents only need to look at what Texas, Florida and Arizona are experiencing to see how much damage being careless, not wearing a mask, and failing to social distance can cause to our state’s economy, our citizens’ health and our healthcare system. Gordon added that he’s encouraged to see many businesses taking this responsibility seriously and both requiring staff and urging customers to wear face coverings.
The continuing orders that take effect July 16 allow gatherings up to 50 persons in a confined space to occur without restrictions and permit events of up to 250 persons with social distancing and increased sanitization measures in place. Faith-based gatherings such as church services and funeral homes will continue to be permitted to operate without restrictions, with appropriate social distancing encouraged. The section of Order No. 1 addressing restaurant operations has been simplified, with the removal of some specific provisions to provide business owners additional flexibility and maintain an emphasis on spacing and face coverings. The public health restrictions that apply to bars, gyms and performance spaces will remain in place. As of Monday, Wyoming has recorded 1,545 lab-confirmed positive cases of COVID-19, 359 probable cases and 21 deaths. There were 39 new lab-confirmed cases and 3 new probable cases announced Monday.