BY JULIE DOCKSTADER HEAPS

Governor Mark Gordon signed a letter yesterday requesting a disaster declaration for Wyoming as the state prepares for a better-sooner-than-later peak in the spread of COVID-19.

Speaking during a video press conference yesterday, the governor said the declaration letter — also signed on behalf of the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapahoe tribes – “provides an opportunity for assistance from the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers for construction of temporary medical facilities if needed.”

“It also opens up our opportunities for additional federal resources and services for individuals including disaster unemployment assistance, legal resources and case management,” Gov. Gordon said.

More than 260 out-of-state physicians and physician assistants have signed up to provide care to Wyoming patients, he related, adding that the Wyoming Board of Medicine is seeking to reactivate licenses for many retired physicians and physician assistants “who want to help in this incredible time of need.”

During the press conference, which also included Dr. Alexia Harrist, the state’s health officer, Gov. Gordon explained collaborative statewide efforts to increase the use of Telehealth. “This has allowed more of our health providers to provide services to patients in their homes preventing them from being exposed or exposing our healthcare workers to potential illnesses.

“In the past month, the Wyoming Telehealth network went from 500 Telehealth licenses to 3,000 – a number that doesn’t include the Telehealth providers from our two largest medical facilities, Cheyenne Regional and Wyoming Medical Center in Casper.”

In her remarks, Dr. Harrist hesitated to state when Wyoming might see a peak in COVID-19 cases, followed by a decline. “I don’t want to say the peak will be in mid-May. We don’t have enough certainty in that to reassure people that will happen.”

However, she emphasized that residents’ adherence to public health orders have slowed the spread in Wyoming. For a link to svinews.com article on the latest coronavirus figures from the Wyoming Department of Health, as well as other developments, click here.

For instance, while social distancing is helping slow the spread, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending that people wear cloth masks in public settings like grocery stores, where social distancing is more challenging. However, Dr. Harrist emphasized that cloth masks for the general public can be purchased or made at home. Medical-grade masks, such as N95 respirators, should be reserved for patient providers.

The recommendation for wearing cloth masks comes in the wake of evidence that people without symptoms can still spread the virus, she added.

“It’s very important to understand that wearing a face covering is not a substitute for social distancing,” Dr. Harrist explained. “We still recommend that people stay home and away from others as much as possible and at least 6 feet away when you have to go out.”

Continuing, the state’s health officer, in explaining the state’s testing categories, said the figures of COVID-19 in Wyoming includes “probable cases,” which are people with symptoms who have had close contact with a laboratory-confirmed patient but who aren’t tested.

“We continue to note that there will be more cases that can be counted as either confirmed or probable,” Dr. Harrist related.

“Finally, I’d like to clarify laboratory testing information [for the Wyoming Public Health Laboratory]. Whether an individual is tested is determined by their healthcare provider. We aren’t telling providers they can’t test outside the priority categories. We are just asking them to send those samples to other laboratories so that our lab can continue to process testing of priority patients and situations.”

In other news from the press conference, Gov. Gordon is asking Wyoming Game and Fish to suspend the sale of short-term fishing licenses to out-of-state residents to discourage travel to the state. Selling short-term licenses, he explained, doesn’t make sense in light of the state’s requirement for visitors to self-quarantine for 14 days after arrival.

In addition, Game and Fish officials sent 43,000 emails to out-of-state hunters and fishing license holders advising them to not visit Wyoming right now. “We’re particularly concerned about our neighbors in a lockdown state like Colorado coming up to Wyoming or from Utah.”

For continued coverage of COVID-19’s march across Wyoming, read the Star Valley Independent or click on svinews.com or the new SVI app found on your device’s app store. In addition, the SVI Radio Network will continue to broadcast virus news multiple times each day. Throughout today, SVI’s Dan Dockstader has related press conference news from Cheyenne.

Keep your radios tuned to SWIFT 98.7 FM in Star Valley and THE SPUR, 105.3 FM in Kemmerer, Diamondville and Bridger Valley – the SVI Radio Network. The morning show, Weekday Wake Up is loaded with news and interviews related to current conditions.

   — Information for this article came from audio recordings of the governor’s press conference sent to state and local media, as well as compilations from Wyoming News Exchange newspapers.