The Wyoming Department Health released new details Tuesday about 38 COVID-19 deaths announced last week.
Among the dead were 10 residents of Natrona County and five residents each from Laramie, Fremont and Campbell counties. There were also three deaths in Goshen County, two each in Big Horn and Park counties and one each from Carbon, Converse, Crook, Platte, Washakie and Weston counties.
Seventeen of the people lived in long-term care facilities. Twenty-four had been hospitalized prior to their deaths.
Twenty-eight had an underlying health condition that put them at higher risk for serious illness from COVID-19.
When state officials announce COVID-19 deaths, they usually include details about the person’s county of residence, whether they had underlying health conditions and whether they were hospitalized or living in a long-term care facility.
Last week, the health department raised the state’s death total but did not release those details due to staff being out for the Thanksgiving holiday. During the week, the state’s number of total COVID-19 deaths increased by 39 — 26 on Nov. 23 and 16 on Nov. 25. The number of Platte County deaths increased by two last week, but just one new death was announced in Tuesday’s news release. The Star-Tribune has reached out to the Wyoming Department of Health for clarification.
There have been 215 reported deaths in Wyoming as a result of the virus — including 128 in November.
November was the pandemic’s deadliest month here, surpassing the previous record of 37 deaths announced, set in October.
Natrona has announced 46 COVID-19 deaths, the most in the state, followed by: Fremont 30, Laramie 23, Big Horn 12, Campbell 12, Sheridan 10, Albany 9, Goshen 9, Washakie 8, Carbon 7, Converse 7, Platte 7, Lincoln 6, Park 6, Sweetwater 6, Crook 5, Johnson 4, Uinta 4, Teton 2, Sublette 1 and Weston 1.
In mid-September, cases began increasing at a rate exponentially higher than anything seen here since the pandemic began — a trend that continued throughout November. Subsequent spikes in hospitalizations and deaths have followed.
In response, multiple counties have put local face mask orders in place. Gov. Mark Gordon has not acted on requests for a statewide mask order, but he did opt to increase the limits on public gatherings.
The symptoms of COVID-19 include cough, fever and shortness of breath. Symptoms appear within two weeks. Health officials recommend self-isolating for two weeks if you have contact with a person who has the illness.