COVID-19 Cases at Wyoming Prisons Lower Than Previous Week
Based on data from the Wyoming Department of Corrections (WDOC), there were 50 cases of COVID-19 at two facilities, the Wyoming Women's Center (WWC) in Lusk and the Wyoming State Penitentiary (WSP) in Rawlins.
This is a decrease at the WSP in Rawlins compared to the previous week, where that facility had 164 positive COVID-19 cases, 34 among staff and 130 among inmates, but an increase at the WWC from 20 during the week of Jan. 27.
COVID-19 deaths in the WDOC have stayed steady at eight since the end of December.
Paul Martin, deputy administrator for the Transparency Division at the WDOC, said in an email that they are monitoring the situation at the WWC closely and have curtained facility operations to control the spread.
At the Rawlins facility, Martin said that the changes they made to how the facility operates have helped them to lower cases, with hopes of being back in full operation soon.
Across Wyoming, cases have fallen slightly over the past few weeks, but are still at the highest levels since the pandemic began.
On Jan. 3, there were 1,005 new cases, which increased to 1,662 by Jan. 10, up to the most cases since the pandemic began at 4,085 on Jan. 18, down to 2,039 on Jan. 27, on Feb. 2 it had gone down to 1,077.
Hospitalizations have also increased, going from 66 COVID-19 patients in Wyoming hospitals on Jan. 11, to 124 by Jan. 24, and sitting at 155 on Feb. 2.
The Wyoming Medical Center currently has the most COVID-19 patients with 45, while the Cheyenne Regional Medical Center has 41, both of which are numbers that change daily.
Deaths on the other hand have fluctuated as they are reported once a week, with 46 reported on Jan. 4, down to 13 on Jan. 18, and up to 25 by Feb. 1.