COVID-19

COVID-19 daily briefing: April 24, 2020

by WyoFile staff April 24, 2020April 27, 2020

This graph shows the number of coronavirus cases confirmed each day in Wyoming since March 12. (Wyoming News Exchange)

As of 9:30 a.m., April 24, 2020

Wyoming: Confirmed cases of COVID-19: 332. Deaths: 7 — Recovered: 279. Probable, untested cases: 121.
By county: Laramie County leads the state with 81 confirmed cases, followed by Teton with 63, Fremont with 53, Natrona with 39 and Campbell with 14. Two counties, Platte and Weston, have reported no cases.
Testing: 7,764 tests have been administered and processed, according to the Wyoming Department of Health. Experts and officials agree positive test numbers fall well short of the reality of the disease’s spread.
United States: 869,172 confirmed cases, according to the Johns Hopkins Institute. Total deaths: 49,963 — Total recoveries: 80,934.
The latest: Gov. Mark Gordon on Thursday unveiled a plan to transition Wyoming to a new phase of COVID-19 response. The plan includes modification of some health orders, ongoing analysis of health data and easing some restrictions on businesses. Businesses likely to be allowed to start reopening under the plans include barber shops, salons and gyms, Gordon said in a Thursday press conference. The state will next week release modified orders that will allow county-level flexibility based on data, according to a Facebook post on Gordon’s page. The schedule for the transition will be driven by progress rather than dates, he said, stressing the importance of continuing measures like social distancing and mask use. “It remains critical for citizens to continue to follow the public health guidance that has been issued,” he said.
More news: Schools around the state should be prepared to have students remain at their homes through the end of the school year, Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow said during Gordon’s news conference. Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Cam Sholly said park officials still do not know when the park might open for the season. Dr. Alexia Harrist, the state’s health officer, said the state has received enough COVID-19 testing supplies to resume testing all samples collected from patients around the state. The state lab had previously restricted testing due to a lack of supplies.

Support independent reporting during trying times — donate to WyoFile today.

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.