C-19 patients show up at Wyoming State Hospital

EVANSTON, Wyo. (KIFI/KIDK)-Two patients of the Wyoming State Hospital in Evanston have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.

The Wyoming Department of Health says the adult female patients were recently transferred to the state-run psychiatric facility from a Casper behavioral health facility that has been the center of a Natrona County outbreak.

One of the patients is still at the State Hospital. The other is being treated at an out-of-state medical hospital.

Neither patient had symptoms of COVID-19 when they were picked up by State Hospital transportation staff. They were tested when they arrived and housed in a quarantine area.

"We have been preparing for the possibility that the hospital might see coronavirus patients for quite some time," said Bill Rein, WSH administrator with WDH. "Both patients were attended by nursing staff who used personal protective equipment."

Rein said the State Hospital was aware of the situation at the Casper facility before the transfer and was prepared for it.

The state hospital staff will work with county and state public health representatives to provide appropriate care and prevent risk to other patients and staff.