Teton County has moved down one risk level, from critical to high, following a decline in coronavirus infections in the area.
Between Jan. 19 and Feb. 1, the county saw 384 new coronavirus cases, which is a 29% decrease from the previous two weeks, when 540 cases were detected.
The percentage of recent coronavirus tests with positive results has also decreased to approximately 7% from 9.5% two weeks ago.
Additionally, recent hospitalizations of coronavirus cases have decreased, with only one coronavirus patient hospitalized at St. Johns Medical Center in Jackson as of Wednesday.
Due to these improvements, Teton County Health Officer Dr. Travis Riddell has rescinded a couple countywide orders, including a recommendation to gather in household groups only, a limit on group workout classes to a maximum of 10 people and a variance that closed restaurants and bars from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.
Despite these encouraging trends, several of Teton County’s individual metrics remain in the “critical” or “concerning” categories.
“I’m relieved several of our metrics have been improving in recent days, but it’s important to remember COVID transmission in our community remains quite high,” Teton County epidemiologist Dr. Shane Yu said. “We still have a long way to go and, as we’ve seen in the past, these trends can quickly change direction when preventative measures are not followed.”
The current recommendations for Teton County include avoiding large gatherings, limiting exposure to people outside of one’s household and avoiding crowded indoor spaces.
The number of active coronavirus cases in Wyoming climbed back over 1,100 on Wednesday with the reporting of more than 130 new confirmed cases of the virus.
At the same time, the state received reports of 25 new probable cases and 68 recoveries among those with either confirmed or probable cases of coronavirus, leaving Wyoming with 1,165 active cases, an increase of 92 from Tuesday.
