EVANSTON — Uinta County’s COVID-19 outbreak appears to have slowed this week, as only nine new confirmed cases have been reported since Monday, June 22. That brings the county’s total to 128 confirmed with another 34 probable, with 62 of the confirmed and 9 of the probable cases recovered, according to data from the Wyoming Department of Health.

While definitely welcome news, public health officials aren’t yet sure if it signals the end of the local spike.

Uinta County Public Health Nurse Manager Kim Proffit said, “It’s too soon to tell, but I have optimistic hopes that with the contact tracing, quarantining and isolation and the increased community effort and awareness, we are seeing a taper off.”

Proffit said there are 59 confirmed positive and another 19 probable active cases. To date, there have been six total hospitalizations among Uinta County residents, at both local and out-of-state facilities, with three individuals hospitalized as of Thursday, June 25.

For several weeks after the first local case was confirmed on April 1, the county’s positive percentage rate — meaning the percentage of all tests conducted that were positive — was at right about 1%. With the June spike, the county’s positive test rate jumped to around 18% for those couple of weeks and around 6% cumulatively.

Proffit said spikes such as the one the county has experienced this month are concerning. “One of the concerns with spiking high and fast is the pressure it puts on healthcare capacity. While we haven’t exceeded our capacity, the county is feeling the pressure and strain from a lot of cases in a short time.”

Proffit urged the public to continue taking precautions to prevent the spread of illness. “Much of what we and others are all learning from our experience is that the virus can spread quickly and relatively easily, the situation can change rapidly, our actions affect others, precautionary measures work and no one is insulated. Hopefully, we can also show how well a community comes together and brings it under control.”