The novel coronavirus is spreading through Park County more rapidly, with more than 60 new cases of COVID-19 detected in a span of just six days.

As of Monday, there were 92 active confirmed or probable cases in Park County, according to state data — by far the highest amount since the pandemic began. For comparison, during the last significant spike in local cases in late June and early July, the number of active infections peaked at 48.

"Contact tracing shows that most of these new cases are due to community transmission," Park County Health Officer Dr. Aaron Billin said in  a Facebook post late Monday night. "That is, this increase is due to spread of COVID-19 already in our county (most are not aware of where they caught it). People are gathering without masks or social distancing."

Billin said  there have been no cases traced back to schools, but some parents have been sending their kids to school even while sick.

"While some of these are infections that we normally see this time of year (common colds, strep, bronchitis, etc.) we are concerned that this may jeopardize the schools and their extracurricular activities," Billin wrote.

Case numbers have also surged across Wyoming as a whole, with the state having the fourth-worst effective reproduction number in the country, Billin said Monday; Gov. Mark Gordon warned last week that more vigilance is required to slow the spread of the respiratory disease.

For most people, COVID-19 causes mild or moderate flu- or cold-like symptoms, if any symptoms at all, and they recover at home. But in rarer cases, the disease can cause serious health problems and, in a small fraction of cases, death. To date, 54 deaths have been recorded among more than 7,600 confirmed or probable cases in Wyoming.

As of Monday, there were 51 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in facilities around the state, with two patients at Powell Valley Healthcare and three at Cody Regional Health. That was down from a Thursday peak of 56 patients, but it’s still relatively high: Until the recent surge, the number of simultaneous COVID-19 hospitalizations had peaked at 23 back in April, according to data compiled by the Wyoming Department of Health.

State Health Officer Dr. Alexia Harrist cautioned last week that some Wyoming hospitals were starting to feel the pressure from the rising numbers of ill people. On Sunday, there were 1,680 people in the state who had active confirmed or probable COVID-19 infections. In Park County, there were 67 new cases — 62 confirmed and five probable — detected between Wednesday and Monday.

In his Monday night Facebook post, Dr. Billin said the new infections have mostly been split between Cody (40 active cases) and Powell (34). His figures differ slightly from those tabulated by the Department of Health and he listed  a total of 88 active cases.

Billin said last week that recent testing of raw sewage indicated 3.3% of sewer users in Cody were shedding COVID-19, as compared to 0.5% of sewer users in Powell. Billin guessed that meant more than 300 people in Cody are or recently were infected, with around 30 people in Powell.

Since the start of the pandemic in March, Park County has had 312 lab-confirmed cases. The county hit the 300-case mark on Sunday, when 15 new positive results were reported to the Department of Health.

As an example of how much the spread of the disease has accelerated, it took roughly 4 1/2 months for Park County to reach 100 confirmed cases. The next 100 were detected over the course of nearly two months, while the last 100 came in 18 days.

To slow the spread of COVID-19, health officials continue to encourage people to practice social distancing, wash hands frequently and practice extra hygiene, among other precautions. Further, the Wyoming Department of Health and Gov. Gordon “continue to strongly recommend the use of face coverings in public settings where it is not possible or reasonable to stay physically apart,” Gordon’s office said in a Friday statement.