Antler hunters stage Thursday, April 30, 2020, at the Teton County Fairgrounds in Jackson. A new system put in place this year allowed shed hunters to camp overnight at the fairgrounds and be first in line to access forest service trailheads via the National Elk Refuge the morning of May 1. (Ryan Dorgan/Jackson Hole Daily/Wyoming News Exchange)

As of 10:30 a.m., May 5, 2020 

  1. Wyoming: Confirmed cases of COVID-19: 444. Deaths: 7 — Recovered: 405. Probable, untested cases: 152. 
  2. By county: Fremont County leads the state with 128 confirmed cases, followed by Laramie with 104, Teton with 67, Natrona with 38 and Campbell with 15. Two counties, Platte and Weston, have reported no cases. 
  3. Testing: 10,763 tests have been administered and processed, according to the Wyoming Department of Health. 
  4. United States: 1,180,634 confirmed cases, according to the Johns Hopkins Institute. Total deaths: 68,934 — Total recoveries: 187,180.
  5. The latest: Communities around the state are starting to roll out individualized plans for reopening their economies. Laramie County’s plan, which State Health Officer Dr. Alexia Harrist approved Monday, includes four phases. The earliest the county could enter into phase one of the plan, in which dine-in services at restaurants would be available on a limited basis, is May 15. In Natrona County, which also had its request approved by the state, residents can now eat at restaurants, albeit only in outdoor settings and with social distancing restrictions, the Casper Star-Tribune reports. Niobrara, Platte and Sheridan counties won approval for church services. Doctors in Carbon County, where just five positive cases have been reported, are warning residents not to grow complacent about the threat posed by coronavirus, according to the Wyoming News Exchange. “We don’t want to have a false reassurance that we’ve only had [five] cases in the county,” Dr. Greg Johnson of the county’s Memorial Hospital said during a facebook live stream. “We’ve seen ill patients that we were unable to test.” 
  6. More news: Business and government leaders near Yellowstone National Park are seeking ways to welcome visitors safely for Memorial Day weekend and beyond at some of Wyoming’s top tourism draws. A Pinedale gym owner who was cited in April for reopening her business in violation of a state health order says slow government aid and threat of eviction forced her hand. “I’ve got a business to run and a family to feed,” Jennifer Ramsey said. Widespread, voluntary testing to control the spread of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 should be successful because a strong majority of people are willing to be tested, University of Wyoming researchers say. A University of Wyoming survey of 1,000 people found that 70% were willing to be tested for COVID-19 at no cost — even if a positive result means they must self-isolate for 14 days.

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