Incident management team selected

The Hot Springs County Commissioners recently delegated authority to Public Health Nurse Manager Tricia McPhie and Emergency Management Coordinator Bill Gordon to serve as unified command of the Hot Springs County COVID-19 incident management team.

The two will coordinate information and communication about the spread of the virus in order to present a single voice for the county as to what is happening locally.

McPhie said they are confident the hospital has the ability and the capacity to stabilize and triage anyone in the county that may contract the virus.

Gordon said people’s worry about the virus is totally valid and this is not going to be a short term virus anywhere in the country.

“The best thing people can do is to behave, stay home and practice hygiene and separation,” he said. “Our biggest goal is to keep the numbers in Hot Springs County down.”

Official numbers from the team show nine people in Hot Springs County have been tested at the hospital and Red Rock Family Practice.

Four of those tests have been returned as negative. The results have not been received yet for the other five.

The tests are taking four to five days for results as they are either shipped to the State Lab in Cheyenne or to a commercial lab for verification.

Gordon said with the shortage of hand sanitizers, Cindy Shank, the Logistics Officer with Homeland Security is working with Wyoming distilleries to create hand sanitizer for the public.

Gordon and McPhie recommend people look to the county’s website for the latest information on COVID-19. That information can be found at hscounty.com/covid.

In addition, information from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is the most accurate information on the virus and its spread, including what to do to protect yourself and others.

Included in the information is the virus spreads from person to person between people who are closer than six feet apart. It moves through coughing or sneezing and will spread by touching surfaces the virus is on and then touching your mouth, nose or eyes.

Symptoms include mild to severe respiratory illness with some cases developing a fever above 100.4, a cough and difficulty breathing.

Avoid close contact with people who are sick and wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If you use hand sanitizer make sure it is at least 60 percent alcohol.

Avoid others and stay home if you can, especially if you are sick. Avoid gatherings and practice social distancing.

Contrary to some reports, the CDC says there is currently no vaccine to protect you against COVID-19.

At press time, there were over 40 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the State of Wyoming per the Wyoming Department of Health.