Wyoming Prisons Continue to See Decline in COVID-19 Cases

As the Wyoming Department of Corrections (WDOC) continues to recover from an outbreak of COVID-19 at their facilities in Torrington and Riverton, cases across the board continue to fall.

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Based on the most recent data on the number of cases, the WDOC saw 78 cases across their five facilities in the state, compared to 222 as of Oct. 15, with the Wyoming Honor Conservation Camp in Newcastle having the most cases at 27, six among staff and 21 among inmates.

Conversely, the Wyoming Medium Correctional Institution in Torrington, which two weeks ago reported 118 cases, 15 among staff and 103 among inmates, has gone down to 19 total COVID-19 cases, three among staff and 16 among inmates.

The Wyoming Honor Farm in Riverton has also reported lower cases this week, with 10 total positive cases, two among staff and eight among inmates, compared to 85 cases two weeks ago, four among staff and 81 among inmates, which had gone down to 24 by Oct. 28.

It is unclear however how many of the inmates and staff that previously tested positive are still infected or recovering from the virus, though there have still only been three inmate deaths attributed to COVID-19.

Paul Martin, deputy administrator with WDOC's Transparency Division, said those who tested positive two weeks ago are back in "normal operations mode," while those who tested positive last week are still in quarantine, similar to those that tested positive this week.

The vaccination rate among inmates has been relatively steady around 58%, but Martin said he is unsure what the current rate is among staff, which was around 38% on Oct. 21.

Because staff get vaccinations at places other than where they work, Martin said they have stopped reporting their vaccination rates.

Wyoming as a whole continues to have one of the lowest vaccination rates, currently coming in second to last, just ahead of West Virginia, at 51.2% with just one dose and 44.2% with both doses.