COVID-19 daily briefing: May 6, 2020

As of 10:30 a.m., May 6, 2020 

1. Wyoming: Confirmed cases of COVID-19: 452. Deaths: 7. Recovered: 409. Probable, untested cases: 152. 
2. By county: Fremont County leads the state with 132 confirmed cases, followed by Laramie with 108, Teton with 67, Natrona with 38 and Campbell with 15. Two counties, Platte and Weston, have reported no cases. 
3. Testing: 12,306 tests have been administered and processed, according to the Wyoming Department of Health. 
4. United States: 1,205,138 confirmed cases, according to the Johns Hopkins Institute. Total deaths: 71,079 — Total recoveries: 189,791.
5. The latest: As state health orders have started easing in Wyoming, several counties have successfully sought variances to those orders based on local health data. The Department of Health has approved dining variances in Lincoln, Park, Washakie and Natrona counties, according to information Gov. Mark Gordon posted on Facebook on Tuesday afternoon. Niobrara and Platte counties have received variances on gathering limits while Sheridan County received one for dining and gathering. On the other end of the spectrum, Teton County secured a variance for measures that are more restrictive than statewide orders. The state’s COVID-19 dashboard as of Monday indicated that while many metrics are “stabilizing” — ICU bed availability, hospital bed availability, COVID-19 hospital admissions, and percent of cases attributed to community spread — the metric of new cases in Wyoming was still listed as “concerning.” No metrics were yet listed as “improving.”
6. More news: In Riverton, school district officials have decided to have a “drive-in” graduation ceremony in the Riverton High School parking lot, according to the Wyoming News Exchange. The emerging trend of people avoiding routine or urgent care health visits due to COVID-19 worries could have major consequences, health officials say, the Wyoming Tribune Eagle reports. 

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