The Wyoming Department of Health on Thursday extended the orders without making changes. The decision leaves in effect a series of restrictions pertaining to restaurants, bars, personal care services like salons and performance spaces. They also require students to wear masks if they can’t maintain 6 feet of separation and place limits on the size of both indoor and outdoor gatherings.
The state has extended its existing health orders several times this summer. Gov. Mark Gordon said he had hoped to eliminate the restrictions earlier this summer, but a surge in cases that began in June prevented that from happening, he told reporters last month. That surge peaked just before August, then fell for nearly two weeks before rising once again. The state has been averaging 35 confirmed cases per day over the past 14 days, compared with an average of 27 cases per day from July 30 to Aug. 12.
As of Thursday, Wyoming had recorded 3,166 confirmed cases and 556 probable cases. Thirty-seven people have died, including 11 in August — the highest number of fatalities in a month since the pandemic emerged here in March.
In Torrington, several parts of Eastern Wyoming College’s campus have been temporarily closed for deep cleaning after a visitor to campus later tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
Several cosmetology and cosmetology-adjacent facilities will be closed for deep cleaning.