Assembled with materials like pool flotation noodles, garbage bags and duct tape, a massive face mask and pair of sunglasses cover a gazebo at a Rawlins residence. (Ray K. Erku/ Rawlins Times/Wyoming News Exchange)

As of 11 a.m., May 7, 2020 

  1. Wyoming: Confirmed cases of COVID-19: 479. Deaths: 7. Recovered: 416. Probable, untested cases: 152. 
  2. By county: Fremont County leads the state with 155 confirmed cases, followed by Laramie with 109, Teton with 67, Natrona with 38 and Campbell with 16. Two counties, Platte and Weston, have reported no cases. 
  3. Testing: 12,715 tests have been administered and processed, according to the Wyoming Department of Health. 
  4. United States: 1,231,992 confirmed cases, according to the Johns Hopkins Institute. Total deaths: 73,573 — Total recoveries: 189,910.
  5. The latest: Wyoming saw a significant spike in new confirmed cases Wednesday. Of the 27 new cases, 24 occurred in Fremont County, where officials say community spread is likely still occurring. The jump in cases “is a result of testing contacts of individuals who are positive for COVID-19,” Fremont County Public Health Officer Dr. Brian Gee said in a press release. “After speaking with those involved with contact tracing, this would suggest continued community spread is occurring in parts of the county.” The process of contact tracing and isolation along with subsequent testing, Gee said, is important for communities as “it helps providers know who has the disease (even with minimal symptoms) and to enact isolation and quarantine orders which keeps individuals from the community at large.” As of Thursday 71 of the county’s cases were in Riverton, followed by 24 in Lander and 17 in Ethete, according to the Fremont County Incident Management Team.
  6. More news: BNSF Railway announced Wednesday it will close two facilities in Wyoming and lay off 122 workers in response to tough market conditions for coal, the Casper Star-Tribune reports. Four more counties — Goshen, Niobrara, Uinta and Hot Springs — have won state approval to open bars and restaurants for limited operation, the Wyoming News Exchange reports. In Campbell County, meanwhile, a new COVID-19 case has paused the county’s effort to reopen restaurants and bars, according to the Gillette News Record.

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