Rumors persist that Lincoln County’s zero number as it pertains to confirmed cases of the COVID-19 virus is not an accurate one due to the high number of workers from the Star Valley area who make the daily commute to Jackson for employment.

Duke Dance spoke with Patrice Baker of Lincoln County Public Health as part of a community update for Swift 98.7 on Wednesday afternoon, April 1 in an effort to clarify the procedure used by officials in determining a positive test.

“No matter where a person is tested in the state it is then reported back to the county in which the person is a resident of,” she said. “If they are tested in Teton County the Health Department reports to where the county resident lives. There are no positive confirmed cases in Lincoln County. There may have been some who have been in contact with them.”

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Baker went on to explain that not everyone meets the criteria to be tested.

“It’s called community spread,” Baker continued. “Some may be sick and be at home but haven’t been tested. Because it is a rapidly changing situation, positive tests could pop up at any time.”

According to Star Valley Health Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Bren Lowe, “there are a number of presumptively positive cases based on symptoms and travel history.”

“These cases are in 14-day isolation, he replied. “At the time based on high-priority testing guidelines, the cases didn’t qualify for testing. These patients are contacted on a regular basis to follow up on their symptoms and care, to date none of these patients have required hospitalization. Testing supplies continue to be a nationwide problem. Star Valley Health could do COVID-19 testing in-house. We have two machines with the capability, however all hospitals in the state are struggling to get the lab reagent to run the tests.”

Star Valley Health did receive additional testing supplies from the State of Wyoming yesterday and will begin testing additional patients based CDC guidelines. These tests will continue to be sent to the State lab until in house testing is possible.

A reagent is a substance or compound added to a system to cause a chemical reaction, or added to a test if a reaction occurs.

Dr. Alexa Harrist with the Wyoming Department of Health reiterated the importance of heeding the advice and guidelines set by the state.

“Most reported cases of COVID-19 in Wyoming so far can describe a likely source of infection, such as contact with a known case,” said Dr. Alexia Harrist, state health officer and state epidemiologist with WDH. “But there are others with an unknown source of infection and there are likely more illnesses than we have been able to track. We believe there is local community spread in Wyoming.”

Symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough and shortness of breath, which are also symptoms of other respiratory illnesses such as influenza.

“If you have a fever or cough, you might have COVID-19,” Harrist said. “We know most people who are infected have mild illness and are able to recover at home without medical care.”

“But, we also know people who are aged 65 and older and people who have medical conditions such as heart disease, lung disease, diabetes and weak immune systems are more likely to get severe illness,” she said.

“If you’re sick, we need you to stay home except to get medical help if your symptoms include trouble breathing, steady chest pain or pressure, or bluish lips or face,” Harrist said. “We suggest calling ahead to a medical professional for help to decide whether you need more evaluation or calling 911 for an obvious medical emergency.”

Other recommendations to follow when ill include:

• Avoid contact with other people in public areas
• Keep away from other people at home as much as possible
• Cover coughs and sneezes
• Wash hands often
• Avoid sharing personal household items like eating utensils and drinking glasses
• Clean high-touch surfaces every day

Harrist noted COVID-19 is a new disease despite the familiar symptoms. “That means higher potential for quick spread. Our bodies aren’t prepared to fight a new virus and there are no vaccines or proven treatments yet available,” she said. “With new diseases there can be more people sick at one time, which is tough for our local healthcare systems to handle.”

Harrist said anyone can get sick and has a chance of a serious illness with COVID-19, and anyone who is sick can pass it on to others.

“That’s why it is incredibly important to stay home when you are sick and for everyone to follow the public health orders that are in place to limit contact for all of us with others. They are meant to save lives and to reduce the spread of this disease in our state.” she said.

More details about what to do when sick are available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/if-you-are-sick/steps-when-sick.html.

More information about COVID-19 and Wyoming can be found online here: https://health.wyo.gov/publichealth/infectious-disease-epidemiology-unit/disease/novel-coronavirus/.