A Cody woman who contracted the new coronavirus has made a complete recovery from the respiratory disease, the Park County health officer said this week.

As of Wednesday morning, that remained the only confirmed case of COVID-19 in the county among 142 people who have been tested; another 14 tests were pending.

“These numbers are encouraging,” Dr. Aaron Billin, the county’s health officer, said Monday night.

However, he suggested the worst of the pandemic may be yet to come. Based on some projections, “we believe we are still several weeks away from the peak in Wyoming,” Billin said.

He also cautioned on Wednesday that “we know there are more cases than have been detected.”

Not only does testing remain limited, Billin pointed to a new study of the disease’s spread in China suggesting that, for every confirmed case, six cases went undiagnosed. That indicates people with no or minor symptoms “play a large role in spreading the virus,” the doctor said — and underscores the need to continue to practice social distancing.

“We are not out of the woods,” Billin wrote. “Be careful of allowing people unnecessarily into your home for things that could easily be completed at a later date — particularly those over 65 and those with chronic medical conditions. In Park County our approach is proactive and not reactive.”

He said one key metric to track is the number of people hospitalized with the virus; as of Wednesday, there were no such cases in Park County.

Across Wyoming, there were 137 confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday. Of those patients, 31 had recovered, with zero deaths.

—By CJ Baker