COVID-19 arrives in Park County, as Cody woman tests positive for disease

Posted 3/17/20

The new coronavirus is now in Park County — with health officials announcing late Tuesday that a Cody woman has tested positive for COVID-19.

“This is what we’ve been preparing …

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COVID-19 arrives in Park County, as Cody woman tests positive for disease

Posted

The new coronavirus is now in Park County — with health officials announcing late Tuesday that a Cody woman has tested positive for COVID-19.

“This is what we’ve been preparing for all along, so now it’s going to get real,” said Park County Public Health Nurse Manager Bill Crampton.

He said the woman — who was later identified as an employee of Cody Regional Health — is at home, in self-isolation.

“For the next few hours and starting next thing in the morning, we’ll be doing contact tracing — trying to figure out who was in contact with her — and things like that,” Crampton said Tuesday night. “And we go from there.”

Annalea Avery, a spokeswoman for Cody Regional Health, said Wednesday night that the organization was receiving guidance from the Wyoming Department of Health and Park County Public Health on next steps. Meanwhile, the organization's own incident command "is actively involved in taking measures to ensure continued employee and patient safety," Avery said.

Health officials across the U.S. have been encouraging or imposing increasingly stringent precautions to try to curb the virus’ spread, with some areas shutting down restaurants and bars.

In Park County, officials are issuing similar guidance. On Wednesady morning, Dr. Aaron Billin, the county health officer, urged non-essential businesses and day cares to shut shut down.

“It’s serious,” Crampton said Tuesday night, adding that, “This is where we are kind of forced into doing what’s right.”

Beyond limits on gatherings, health officials have been urging people to frequently wash their hands, cover coughs and sneezes, avoid touching their face, keep their distance from others and to stay home when sick.

COVID-19 has been rapidly spreading across the country, with more than 4,200 confirmed cases across all 50 states.
Most people who contract the disease suffer mild cold-like symptoms and may not even realize they’re sick, health officials say.

“Of those infected, 80% have relatively mild respiratory illness and do not require hospital care while 20% become ill enough to require hospitalization,” Park County Public Health said in a Monday news release. “Death [from the virus] is possible, especially among the elderly.”

So far, COVID-19 is believed to have caused at least 75 deaths across the United States.

Part of the concern for health officials is that initial data indicates COVID-19 is more infectious and deadlier than influenza — a disease that sickened more than 35 million Americans and killed 34,200 during the 2018-19 flu season. That’s one reason why so much of an effort is being made to slow the spread of the new coronavirus.

The situation has changed rapidly in both the country and in Wyoming.  The state’s first case was reported less than a week ago, on the night of Wednesday, March 11, in Sheridan County. As of Tuesday night, the State Department of Health said there were 15 total cases: eight in Fremont County, four in Sheridan County, two in Laramie County and the one in Park County.

At a Tuesday Park County Commission meeting, Dr. Aaron Billin, the county's health officer, had said that he knew of three pending tests for possible cases of COVID-19 in the area; it appears that one of those turned out to be positive just hours later.

“Everybody has to remember that this is a disease that’s showing exponential spread and exponential growth,” Billin had said Tuesday morning. “People are walking around Cody today saying, ‘I don’t see what the big deal is,’ but they’re going to get up one morning to find their world has changed.”

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