The number of Park County residents actively infected with COVID-19 has sunk to its lowest level in months, although the death count continues to rise.

As of Wednesday, there were 47 people with confirmed or probable cases of the disease in the county — down significantly from the 73 cases reported a week earlier. The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 also dropped, from 12 on Dec. 15 to nine on Monday, according to state data.

However, the Wyoming Department of Health also announced six more COVID-related deaths among Park County residents. The deaths included five older women and one man who was under the age of 65. Three of the deaths occurred earlier this month, while the others occurred in November.

The deaths of 117 Park County residents have been tied to COVID-19 since March 2020. They have come among 5,633 confirmed and probable cases.

A new strain of the virus, dubbed the omicron variant, recently arrived in Wyoming and “we don’t know how this is going to turn out yet,” said Park County Health Officer Dr. Aaron Billin said last week. He shared preliminary data suggesting that the variant may spread more easily but cause less severe illness.

Billin added that as COVID-19 transitions to an endemic illness — always present at a lower level — the national focus will likely shift from infections to hospitalizations and deaths.

“This means that it may be less important how many active cases are in the community, than how many people are sick enough to be in the hospital,” Billin wrote. “We’ve had a few home deaths in Park County, but most deaths are in the hospital first.”

Health officials continue to encourage residents to get vaccinated against COVID-19, saying the immunizations offer protection against the variants as well. As of Monday, 12,376 Park County residents, representing about 42.4% of the population were fully vaccinated. That was an increase of 54 people from the prior week. Across the state, about 43% of the population is fully vaccinated.