Wyoming: Ample coronavirus-testing capacity after 1st case
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - Wyoming health officials expect to have ample capacity to keep testing for the new coronavirus after a woman from northwestern Sheridan County became the state's first person to test positive for the illness, authorities said Thursday.
Confirmation by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control of Wednesday's state test result was pending. The woman traveled outside Wyoming in the U.S. recently and health officials were investigating who may have had close contact with her.
Also Thursday, the Wyoming High School Activities Association announced it was taking the virus prevention precaution of canceling this weekend's Class 3A and 4A state basketball tournaments in Casper and the state's speech and debate and tournament in Green River.
No details about the woman who tested positive, including her condition and whether she is hospitalized, were being disclosed, said Wyoming Department of Health spokeswoman Kim Deti.
As of Thursday, 16 others in Wyoming had tested negative for the virus causing the COVID-19 disease. They included 15 whose samples came back negative from the Wyoming Public Health Laboratory in Cheyenne, which began testing March 5, and one negative result from the CDC.
The COVID-19 virus' symptoms include fever, cough and shortness of breath.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia.
The vast majority of people recover from the new virus. According to the World Health Organization, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover.
In mainland China, where the virus first exploded, more than 80,000 people have been diagnosed and more than 61,000 have so far recovered.
People in Wyoming who think they need a coronavirus test should visit a healthcare provider, Deti said, but not all who want a test would necessarily get one.
Wyoming health officials were prioritizing testing for people who have recently traveled internationally, had contact with somebody with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 or who were hospitalized with a severe illness.
People over 65 and those with chronic illness and/or compromised immune systems also were priorities, according to the department.
The department-run laboratory has hundreds of test kits, Deti said.
"We have enough supplies to meet demand for some time to come. We're in pretty good shape for now," Deti said.
The University of Wyoming has canceled study abroad in China and South Korea this summer and prohibited university travel to or through those countries, Iran and Italy.
Students and university personnel returning from those four countries have been told self-isolate for 14 days to make su re they do not have the COVID-19 virus, according to university rules.
