COVID-19 daily briefing: April 30, 2020

As of 112 p.m., April 29, 2020 

1. Wyoming: Confirmed cases of COVID-19: 404. Deaths: 7 — Recovered: 371. Probable, untested cases: 140. 
2. By county: Fremont County leads the state with 102 confirmed cases, followed by Laramie with 96, Teton with 64, Natrona with 39 and Campbell with 14. Two counties, Platte and Weston, have reported no cases. 
3. Testing: 9,299 tests have been administered and processed, according to the Wyoming Department of Health. Fremont County health officials recently expanded testing and contact tracing there, which they say likely accounts for the county’s spike in confirmed cases. 
4. United States: 1,043,595 confirmed cases, according to the Johns Hopkins Institute. Total deaths: 61,187, more than twice the capacity of University of Wyoming’s War Memorial stadium. Total recoveries: 124,294.
5. The latest: Around the state, certain types of businesses — barbershops, gyms, daycare centers and salons — prepare to open Friday under new rules as state health orders ease. Those businesses and many others have been closed since Gov. Mark Gordon and State Health Officer Dr. Alexia Harrist began issuing statewide closure orders in mid-March in response to COVID-19. Gordon also announced Wednesday that state park campgrounds will open on May 15, but “to Wyoming residents only.”
6. More news: The western Wyoming antler rush will be different this year, reports the Jackson Hole News&Guide. In Teton County, the Jackson Police department is asking shed-antler hunters to stage at the Teton County Fairgrounds, so they have the least interaction possible with residents. Vehicle owners at the fairgrounds will be issued a number and admitted onto National Elk Refuge road in that order. The caravan will be escorted to the refuge at 6 a.m. Friday, and numbered vehicles will get dibs before others. Public antler hunting takes place on national forest land, not on the refuge. Also, Teton County’s health order that restricts gatherings to only individuals within the same household expires at midnight Thursday. Effective Friday, county residents are asked to follow the state order guidelines limiting gatherings to no more than 10 people.

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