Anna Kinder, Executive Director of the Casper-Natrona County Department of Health, at a working meeting of Mills City Council (Gregory Hirst)
CASPER, Wyo – With new COVID-19 cases and hospital admissions spiking again in Natrona County, health officials warn that a continued surge could exceed health care resources.
“Things are changing again very, very quickly,” said Anna Kinder, executive director of the Department of Health for Casper-Natrona, Mills’ councilor, during a working meeting on Tuesday.
“We see many cases of Cheyenne Frontier Days,” said Kinder, “churches are affected and young people are affected.”
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There are 23 COVID patients at the Wyoming Medical Center as of Tuesday, according to the Wyoming Department of Health. On July 18th there were three.
“They have 12 nurses who are absent due to COVID today,” Kinder said, adding that the hospital has “gone into emergency operations.”
“The increase will be greater than the staff we have,” said Kinder.
There are 13 vacancies at CNCHD, only two of which are dedicated to the COVID response: “We have been up to 25 in the past.”
Some of the jobs are being left by those who have progressed in their careers, Kinder told Oil City News after the meeting. Others just aren’t ready to face another spike like the one last fall in Natrona County.
On the subject of contact tracing, Kinder said, “We can’t keep up right now.”
Kinder said workplaces in the larger community were experiencing staff shortages due to illness and quarantine.
She told the council that fully vaccinated people who have been exposed do not need to be quarantined as long as they remain symptom-free and 14 days have passed since their last vaccination.
“Most importantly, we ask people to stay home when they are sick.” Kinder said some people with COVID attribute their symptoms to wildfire smoke, seasonal allergies and the common cold.
“If in doubt, just have it tested,” said Kinder.
In the beginning of the summer, the CNCHD was running around 20 COVID tests a day. The number was 60 on both Monday and Tuesday. Kinder said the row of cars used for drive-up tests was “sometimes wrapped around the building.”
She added that there is also increased demand for testing as travel agents and travel destinations require a COVID negative status check.
Kinder said the Delta variant is “highly contagious” and can affect people who have been vaccinated, although the vaccine can dramatically reduce symptoms.
The variant is also likely to be the cause of groundbreaking cases, like the vaccinated CNCHD worker who tested positive for COVID on Tuesday after being exposed while on a camping trip.
Kinder said Mesa Primary Care was running a program to treat and evaluate “long-distance drivers” whose symptoms have persisted for more than 12 weeks after onset. These symptoms include muscle pain, cough, headache, intermittent fever, shortness of breath, lethargy, and fatigue.
Brain fog, or the inability to concentrate, is another symptom and has been linked to depression and detachment. Kinder said the department is seeing an increase in these mental symptoms in the younger population, including school-age children.
Kinder said the department will continue to educate and answer questions about the vaccine, which remains readily available. The CNCHD mobile unit will be on site at the Bob Goff Memorial Library on Thursday from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM and in the Family Dollar parking lot next Thursday at the same times.
Mills also offers water bill vouchers per shot for a period of two weeks, which Councilor Sara McCarthy says is paid for by the state, not the city.
Kinder said a US $ 100 state-approved vaccination incentive is currently run by the Wyoming state government.
“We should know something this week or next,” said Kinder.
For more information on where to get the free vaccine, visit CasperVCovid.
