Matthew, Lisa and Tom Watson exit Vali Twin Cinema in Powell on March 28 after purchasing concessions. Although movie theaters and other public spaces have been ordered to close to the public, some have opened just their concession stands, with added precautions. (Carla Wensky/Powell Tribune/Wyoming News Exchange)

As of 10 a.m., April 2, 2020 

  1. Wyoming: Confirmed cases of COVID-19: 150. Recovered: 31
  2. By county: Laramie leads the state with 36 confirmed cases, followed by Teton with 29, Fremont with 26, Natrona with 19 and Sheridan with 10. Seven counties have reported no cases. 
  3. Testing: 2,589 tests had been administered and processed, according to the Wyoming Department of Health
  4. United States: 216,768 confirmed cases, according to the Johns Hopkins Institute. Total deaths: 5,148 — Total recoveries: 8,710.
  5. The latest: New numbers released by Fremont County health officials give a more thorough picture of the outbreak there than limited testing accounted for. According to the data, on March 31 alone physicians directed 56 patients from Dubois, Lander, Riverton, Fort Washakie, Arapaho and Pavilion with symptoms consistent with COVID-19 infection to self-isolate. County healthcare providers have directed more than 600 people to self-isolate in the last two weeks. “The hundreds of patients were and are people young and old who have symptoms consistent with COVID-19 infection,” Fremont County Public Health Officer Dr. Brian Gee said in a video. “The young are not immune.” Half of the state’s 16 hospitalized patients are in Fremont County, Gee said, and several are “critically ill” and on ventilators. The Wind River Inter-Tribal Council, which represents the Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone Tribes, issued a temporary stay-at-home order for tribal members on the Wind River Indian Reservation. “Our message is simple: Help us save lives. Please stay home,” Northern Arapaho Business Council Chairman Lee Spoonhunter said. 
  6. More news: COVID-19 comes to the rural outpost of Centennial. Predicting a surge of patients to his hospital, one Casper physician created an ad-hoc and offsite screening clinic to offer frontline care — during its first two weeks in March, more than 1,000 patients visited. The state’s mineral industries have asked Gov. Mark Gordon to consider mining and drilling operations “essential” activities. 

Support community journalism during trying times — donate to WyoFile today.

Leave a comment

WyoFile's goal is to provide readers with information and ideas that foster constructive conversations about the issues and opportunities our communities face. One small piece of how we do that is by offering a space below each story for readers to share perspectives, experiences and insights. For this to work, we need your help.

What we're looking for: 

  • Your real name — first and last. 
  • Direct responses to the article. Tell us how your experience relates to the story.
  • The truth. Share factual information that adds context to the reporting.
  • Thoughtful answers to questions raised by the reporting or other commenters.
  • Tips that could advance our reporting on the topic.
  • No more than three comments per story, including replies. 

What we block from our comments section, when we see it:

  • Pseudonyms. WyoFile stands behind everything we publish, and we expect commenters to do the same by using their real name.
  • Comments that are not directly relevant to the article. 
  • Demonstrably false claims, what-about-isms, references to debunked lines of rhetoric, professional political talking points or links to sites trafficking in misinformation.
  • Personal attacks, profanity, discriminatory language or threats.
  • Arguments with other commenters.

Other important things to know: 

  • Appearing in WyoFile’s comments section is a privilege, not a right or entitlement. 
  • We’re a small team and our first priority is reporting. Depending on what’s going on, comments may be moderated 24 to 48 hours from when they’re submitted — or even later. If you comment in the evening or on the weekend, please be patient. We’ll get to it when we’re back in the office.
  • We’re not interested in managing squeaky wheels, and even if we wanted to, we don't have time to address every single commenter’s grievance. 
  • Try as we might, we will make mistakes. We’ll fail to catch aliases, mistakenly allow folks to exceed the comment limit and occasionally miss false statements. If that’s going to upset you, it’s probably best to just stick with our journalism and avoid the comments section.
  • We don’t mediate disputes between commenters. If you have concerns about another commenter, please don’t bring them to us.

The bottom line:

If you repeatedly push the boundaries, make unreasonable demands, get caught lying or generally cause trouble, we will stop approving your comments — maybe forever. Such moderation decisions are not negotiable or subject to explanation. If civil and constructive conversation is not your goal, then our comments section is not for you. 

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *