Jul. 24—CHEYENNE — Without any major public announcement, and lacking any fanfare, the federal government has raised the COVID-19 community level for the county of which Cheyenne is the seat.
There did not appear to have been any local or state disclosures about this change in status.
In an action that appears to have been taken Thursday night, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now considers Laramie County to be in the “high” risk category when it comes to statistics related to the spread and seriousness of coronavirus infections. By virtue of this status, the CDC recommends everyone wear a mask “indoors in public,” according to the federal agency’s website on Saturday.
The change comes amid Cheyenne Frontier Days, which draws tens of thousands of visitors to the state’s capital city for rodeos, concerts, fair rides, food and other festivities. CFD had already recommended precautions for both attendees and participants.
CFD said in a statement late Saturday afternoon to the Wyoming Tribune Eagle that “while we would all like to be done with the pandemic, we know that COVID is not done with us yet.” CFD said it is “aware that Wyoming has seen a recent increase in positive COVID tests.”
“We will continue working closely with public health officials and will rely on them for guidance regarding any additional safety steps they recommend,” said a statement sent in an email from Nicole Gamst, chief marketing officer for the Cheyenne Frontier Days organization. “We will continue working closely with public health officials and will rely on them for guidance regarding any additional safety steps they recommend.”
The Cheyenne-Laramie County Health Department did not appear to have made any recent announcements related to moving from “medium” to “high” CDC status. The local health department and its leadership did not respond to written communications sent well outside of working hours.
The Wyoming Department of Health continues “to refer residents to the guidance from the CDC,” wrote WDH Public Information Officer Kim Deti in an email to the WTE. “We have made no new announcements or changes in guidance.”
In recent days, according to the WTE’s before-and-after comparisons of CDC online materials, the federal agency has actually deemed fewer Wyoming counties to be in the least-safe COVID-19 category. As of Thursday afternoon, a majority of the state’s counties had been in the high category, although Laramie County was one level down at medium. Then, as of Saturday, several fewer counties were now deemed to be at high risk.
Some 10 counties now face the highest risk, including Natrona, which, with Laramie, is among the biggest counties in the state. That means three fewer counties were at that status.
As for Laramie County, according to CDC data, it has a COVID-19 case rate per 100,000 people of 257; because the municipality is home to just barely under 100,000 residents, 257 is roughly the total number of people infected, likely covering a period of about one week. The CDC for the last several days has not answered any of the WTE’s questions.
As for the CFD organization, it says it “understand(s) that some people may be concerned about the potential risk from being among large crowds where social distancing is not possible.”
Fans of the event should “take personal responsibility for their own health and the health of the community,” Gamst wrote in her email message. “If you feel sick, please stay home. If you are uncomfortable in a large crowd, wear a mask. Sanitation remains a good defense, so take advantage of the hand washing stations located at various places on Frontier Park.”
Jonathan Make is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle’s assistant managing editor and editor of the Wyoming Business Report. He can be reached at jmake@wyomingnews.com or 307-633-3129. Follow him on Twitter @makejdm.
