Conservative groups throughout Wyoming have been pushing resolutions to county commissioners which would push back on the state’s health orders and cite a person’s ability to make their own decisions regarding their health and precautions to adhere to. Most recently, such a resolution was passed by the Uinta County commissioners.
A similar resolution, which also would have been nonbinding, was presented to the Sweetwater County commissioners weeks ago and died for a lack of a second -- meaning a second commissioner did not support the initiative enough to bring it to a board vote.
We understand how economically and personally inconvenient the pandemic has been. Properly protecting oneself to limit exposure to COVID-19 can be a hassle. But, we understand the need to curb the spread of COVID-19.
The coronavirus is a dangerous virus and can kill people. We know people can die from it. We also know there is a lot of misinformation regarding how fatal the illness it causes is. For example, there are a lot of unverified claims that the flu is more deadly than COVID-19. According to data from the Wyoming Department of Health, 12 people died from the flu during the 2019-2020 flu season. Meanwhile, 50 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported since March. More than 1 million people have died worldwide, with one-fifth of those deaths coming from the United States.
Easing back on personal precautions like wearing a mask in public is being seen as a contributing factor to the sudden increase in cases in Albany County and similar changes in public opinion may result in a similar circumstance in Sweetwater County.
While a younger person will likely beat the illness, what happens when that person accidently spreads it to someone at higher risk of developing more severe symptoms? Someone who is older or has a compromised immune system is more likely to die from complications related to COVID-19.
That’s the situation we want to avoid.
We won’t have to wear masks forever. Work continues on vaccine trials and we may see a widely available COVID-19 vaccine by spring 2021.
Until then, please continue wearing a mask in public and maintaining that 6-foot distance.
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