As of 11:30 a.m.., April 15, 2020
- Wyoming: Confirmed cases of COVID-19: 287. Deaths: 2 — Recovered: 164.
- By county: Laramie County leads the state with 64 confirmed cases, followed by Teton with 58, Fremont with 42, Natrona with 34 and Campbell with 13. Two counties, Platte and Weston, have reported no cases.
- Testing: 6,329 tests had been administered and processed, according to the Wyoming Department of Health. Experts and officials agree testing numbers fall well short of the reality of the disease’s spread.
- United States: 609,685 confirmed cases, according to the Johns Hopkins Institute. Total deaths: 26,059 — Total recoveries: 49,996.
- The latest: A team from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has arrived in Wyoming to help state officials slow and limit the spread of COVID-19 here, according to the Wyoming Department of Health. The CDC indicated an interest in sending staff members to aid areas with relatively low levels of infection, State Health Officer Dr. Alexia Harrist said in a release, and Wyoming accepted the offer. “The idea is to help maintain lower levels of illness in locations that haven’t yet been overcome as in other areas in the country,” Harrist said in the release. The team members will help with data analysis, prevention and containment, case identification and contact tracing, among other measures, the release states. Debate heats up over whether Gov. Mark Gordon’s closing of some businesses but not issuing a stay-at-home order is inadequate or a threat to liberty. And OSHA directs employers to protect workers in a publication offering COVID-19 guidance in the workplace.
- More news: Workers in the hospitality and leisure industry filed 1,263 unemployment claims in the week ending April 4, more initial claims than any other group during that period, according to the latest information available from the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services. Across all state employment sectors, 4,885 workers filed initial claims that week compared to 341 claims during the same week last year. City councils in both Cheyenne and Casper rejected measures that would have empowered police to enforce state closures and other precautionary measures. Though April 15 is traditionally tax day, the deadline for 2019 returns has been extended to July 15 or beyond due to the outbreak.