EVANSTON — Uinta County had its second and third positive COVID-19 cases confirmed over the weekend, with one of those cases listed on the Wyoming Department of Health (WDH) website as recovered. The first and second cases were in adult males, while the third is an adult female who has been in contact with one of the first cases. A press release issued by Uinta County Public Health on Saturday, April 4, said there is no known source for the first two cases, which would be evidence of community spread within the county. All three positive cases in the county have reportedly been in home isolation.

While several patients at the Wyoming State Hospital were reportedly tested for COVID-19 infection last week, WDH public information officer Kim Deti reported on Friday, April 3, that all of those tests had come back negative.

Statewide, the number of confirmed cases stood at 210 as of Monday, April 6, with 50 of those listed as recovered. There are still no reported COVID-19 related fatalities in Wyoming. As of early afternoon on April 6, the United States had more than 350,000 reported cases with approximately 10,500 fatalities, while global cases reached more than 1,300,000.

The WDH has announced new guidelines for the allocation of scarce COVID-19 testing as Wyoming and the U.S. deal with a lack of testing materials. Individuals who are hospitalized with COVID symptoms, patients living in long-term care or communal healthcare facilities, people over 65 or those with underlying health conditions, healthcare workers and first responders, pregnant women and people with close contact with those over the age of 65 or those with underlying health conditions will be given priority when it comes to testing for the disease. Wyoming State Health Officer and Epidemiologist Dr. Alexia Harrist said the Wyoming Public Health Laboratory will no longer accept samples from patients who do not fall within those categories. Harrist acknowledged the guidelines mean that some people with symptoms who are not hospitalized will not be able to be tested, but said, “We believe most people who become ill with this virus will experience mild illness and will be able to recover at home.”

On Friday, Gov. Mark Gordon extended closure orders for public places and prohibitions on gatherings of more than 10 people until at least April 30, and also issued an order for people coming into Wyoming from out of state for non-work purposes to self-quarantine for 14 days. Gordon has resisted issuing a statewide shelter-in-place order, arguing instead for Wyomingites to use common sense and stay home without being forced to do so.

While grocery stores and other essential businesses remain open, restaurants continue curbside or take-out service and some retail stores struggle to remain in business, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has changed its position and is now recommending that everyone wear some type of face mask, extending from under the chin to the bridge of the nose, while in public. However, medical masks should be left for healthcare providers and the general public should wear some type of cloth face covering that could be as simple as a bandana or scarf.

The economic fall-out of COVID-19 and the accompanying closures has just begun and is impacting millions of Americans and thousands of Wyoming residents. Wyoming’s unemployment rate has reportedly gone up nearly 800% since March 12, with more than 14,000 Wyoming residents filing unemployment claims since that time.

Wyoming Department of Workforce Services is reportedly shifting staff around to handle unemployment applications and has doubled the number of phone lines to handle the influx of claims, although individuals calling to speak to an unemployment specialist have reportedly experienced up to three-hour wait times. In an effort to help reduce the lengthy wait times and improve efficiency, a new system is being implemented in which filers whose last names begins with A-M are asked to file on Mondays, Wednesdays and before noon on Fridays, while filers with last names beginning with N-Z are asked to file on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Friday afternoons. Because of high call volumes, Wyoming residents are encouraged to file claims online whenever possible at wyui.wyo.gov.

University of Wyoming Extension Specialist Cole Ehmke urged individuals to collect materials needed to file for unemployment, including recent paycheck stubs and tax returns, before attempting to file, even for those who are still working but may soon find themselves among the unemployed. Ehmke also stressed the importance of discussing repayment options with creditors for those struggling to pay bills. Many creditors and utility companies have programs in place to provide assistance for those struggling to pay bills due to unemployment related to COVID-19.

With the federal passage of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, numerous economic protections for both individuals and businesses will be made available, including pandemic unemployment assistance for people, such as self-employed or contract employees, who do not typically qualify for unemployment insurance. Other aspects of the legislation include an extension of the amount of time an individual can qualify for unemployment and an increase in the maximum weekly unemployment payment. Some benefits are retroactive to the end of January, while others took effect on March 29.

Relief for small businesses is also included in the legislation, including paycheck protection programs and forgivable short-term loans. Small business owners can find more information from the Wyoming Business Council at wyomingbusiness.org/covid19 or through the Small Business Administration at www.sba.gov. The IRS has also announced employee retention tax credits for some businesses that have been closed due to government orders. More information on the credit can be found at https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus.

The IRS has issued warnings for all individuals and businesses to be on alert for scams and fraud related to COVID-19 and the stimulus package passed by the federal government. Government officials emphasized that no one from the IRS will be sending emails or calling individuals asking for financial information for the $1,200 individual payments authorized by the CARES Act.

Taxpayers who have banking information on file with the federal government from tax returns will have payments directly deposited into bank accounts, while others will be able to go directly to the IRS website to provide that information via a secure portal by mid to late April. Anyone who does not have banking information on file with the IRS will be mailed a check.

Retirees who do not normally file a tax return are reminded they do not need to do anything in order to receive the payments. Seniors should be especially wary and remember not to provide anyone who contacts them by phone, mail, email or in person with financial and/or personal information. People should also be on the lookout for bogus payment checks that include instructions to call or visit a website to verify information prior to cashing.

Anyone who has been contacted by anyone claiming to be from the IRS or federal government seeking personal information related to stimulus payments is urged to report the activity at https://www.irs.gov/privacy-disclosure/report-phishing.

For up to date and accurate information on the stimulus payments, visit the IRS website directly. Payments will reportedly begin to go out by mid to late April for direct deposit recipients, although checks could take weeks or even months to be received. No payments have as yet gone out from the federal government.

As many healthcare and research teams attempt modeling to determine peak cases and healthcare burdens throughout the nation, a University of Washington research team has predicted peak healthcare system usage in Wyoming on May 3, nearly four weeks away.