Gov. Mark Gordon took to Facebook on Tuesday morning to remind out-of-state visitors that they must self-quarantine for 14 days upon entering the state.
Gordon also posted an executive order dated April 3 that laid out the conditions of the self-quarantine notice.
“Travel between the states is a concern for the spread of COVID-19, which is why I issued a directive that anyone entering Wyoming from another state or country should immediately self-quarantine for 14 days,” the governor wrote.
“The directive applies to residents and nonresidents alike,” he said. “We love our visitors in Wyoming, but now is a time to stay close to home.”
Similarly, Cheyenne Mayor Marian Orr took to Twitter Monday to ask out-of-state visitors to stay home rather than come to Wyoming to fish.
“Dear Visitors: We love that you appreciate all Wyoming offers, including recreation and our great outdoors. The fact 153 non-resident annual fishing licenses were sold this weekend alone signals you are not staying at home. Please stay away. We’ll welcome you back another day,” she said.
The tweet quickly generated a number of responses, with some suggesting that the Game and Fish Department stop selling non-resident hunting and fishing licenses altogether during the coronavirus pandemic and others recalling examples they have seen of people not practicing social distancing.
A spokesperson for the Game and Fish said this didn’t necessarily mean people visited Wyoming to get their licenses.
Instead, Game and Fish spokeswoman Sara DiRienzo said many of the licenses sold were annual licenses and it was likely many non-residents renewed their licenses online.
She said the department had no plans to cancel any hunting or fishing seasons.
“Game and Fish has actually been reaching out to non-residents who have hunting or fishing licenses and we’re actually asking them to stay home,” Game and Fish spokeswoman Sara DiRienzo said. “As of now, we’re not planning to close any of our hunting or fishing seasons, because we recognize that being outside is important to residents’ mental health.”
