Current health orders extended through July 31

Wyoming’s current public health orders will be extended through July 31 as the state continues to see increasing numbers of COVID-19 cases, Governor Mark Gordon announced Monday.

He stated that 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 15-30, there were 328 lab-confirmed cases reported.

On July 13, 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%.

“I’m disappointed again that we continue to see case numbers rise,” Governor Gordon said. “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. I am encouraged to see many of our 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 July 13, Wyoming has recorded 1,545 lab-confirmed positive cases of COVID-19, 359 probable cases and 21 deaths. Of these, there were 39 new lab-confirmed cases and 3 new probable cases announced today.

The updated public health orders are attached and can be found on Wyoming’s COVID-19 website.