JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — Teton County Health Department announced a move into the High (Red) risk level for COVID-19 according to CDC metrics. The bump comes less than two weeks after health officials moved from Green to Yellow.
New hospital admissions and an increase in confirmed COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population over the last 7 days spurred the decision. As of June 8, Teton County has averaged 24.1 cases per day for the past seven days for a total of 169 cases reported. For the last 14 days, 19.34% of the tests taken at the Curative sites have received a positive result.
Since June 1, St. John’s Health has admitted six patients with COVID-19 and transferred two such patients to higher levels of care.
“We understand that moving up to the High community level is frustrating at this point in the pandemic. We would all prefer to move past COVID-19 and not hear that our risk for COVID-19 is increasing,” said Teton District Health Officer Travis Riddell, MD, MPH. “I want to encourage our community to wear a mask in public, indoor settings while we remain in the High community level. We know that all community members will assess their COVID-19 risk differently depending on their situation.”
The most significant change in guidance when in the High risk level is the CDC recommends all individuals wear a well-fitting mask when indoors in public locations.
These include staying home when sick, testing for COVID-19, wearing a mask in public indoor settings, increasing ventilation, and following other recommended precautions to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19 to family, friends, coworkers, or neighbors.
Local health officials continue to urge residents to stay up to date on vaccinations even as the latest CDC numbers show those fully boosted are getting COVID at a higher rate than those not.
“Compared to the past when we had high COVID caseloads, Teton County is now one of the most vaccinated communities. This is a great step for our community members to protect themselves and others,” Riddell said. “We now have COVID antiviral treatment available, at no cost, for high-risk people which reduces the chance of severe COVID-19 outcomes. Though multiple treatments are available, preventative measures are still the best steps to protect ourselves and limit virus propagation in our community.”
