Some got COVID-19 at CFD, but not serious cases

Aug. 9—CHEYENNE — There have been anecdotal reports of individual infections and small outbreaks of the coronavirus following Cheyenne Frontier Days, among those who attended and also among people who volunteered.

Based on the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's interviews and data reviews, it appears the yearly event, which brings many tens of thousands of tourists here, spurred few if any serious cases locally. It may never be known whether many visitors from out of the area got serious COVID-19 infections. Experts say it's possible they did not.

Local experts said they had seen no data to show the rodeo, concert, fare and food event created a serious health problem. Some credited CFD itself. One professor noted holding such a big event without requiring any precautions was a recipe for trouble.

"I would have expected the classic (phenomenon that) when you put all those people together ... to see a little more of a bump than what we have seen," said Dr. Jeff Chapman, a chief medical officer at Cheyenne Regional Medical Center. "I have not heard anything."

At CRMC, there are some seven COVID-19 patients, and none were on a ventilator, Chapman noted Tuesday. He detected no big change in the number of hospital patients and employees coming down with the virus. At the height of the pandemic, there were about 70 COVID-19 patients there, the physician pointed out Tuesday.

"Our hospitalizations have been flat," often numbering in the single digits, Chapman said. "We have not had a COVID death for a number of weeks."

COVID-19 numbers

In the last week in Laramie County, there were some 48 people with lab-confirmed or likely COVID-19 cases, up by 15 from the previous week, according to Kathy Emmons from the Cheyenne-Laramie County Health Department.

"Based on where we've been going in the last couple of months, I would say that's pretty much on course," Emmons, the department's head, said by phone Tuesday.

For all of Laramie County, there were some 200 lab confirmed or probable cases of the coronavirus in the last seven days, per the Wyoming Department of Health data, which was updated Tuesday. The rate had been little changed in recent days, a WDOH website shows.

"Every indicator available has generally shown somewhat increased COVID-19 activity in recent months compared to early spring. But the numbers aren't even close to the levels of activity we saw in the winter months," wrote the agency's spokesperson, Kim Deti, in an email Tuesday responding to questions.

"COVID-19 related hospitalizations have increased somewhat in recent months," wrote Deti, the department's public information officer. "But, again, they remain much lower than what we saw this winter."

CFD

CFD took COVID-19 "very seriously, and they put precautions into place," Emmons said last week. Her agency worked with Frontier Days' organizers.

"This is one of the reasons they had multiple hand washing stations out there," she said. CFD also incorporated hand washing and sanitizing stations into 2021's event.

Among the other plans discussed in advance of the 10-day event were what to do if volunteers got infected, Emmons recounted. CFD officials say the organization takes the public health issue seriously.

General Chairman Jimmy Dean Siler said he was not aware of any outbreak among volunteers during the course of the event itself.

"Every volunteer that I normally see at certain posts (was) always there," Siler said.

Operations Committee Chair Brian Rico said he'd heard about potential outbreaks among volunteers. He said one had not occurred among his committee.

In response to a question about a potential outbreak among volunteers, Nicole Gamst, chief marketing officer for CFD, said in a Friday email: "We have confidence in the judgement of our volunteers and our customers. We believe they followed good advice and common sense."

"Regarding COVID, our message to staff, volunteers and our fans has been and remains consistent: stay home if you are sick and take responsibility for your own health and the health of your community," Gamst wrote. "If you are uncomfortable in a large crowd, wear a mask. Sanitation remains a good defense, so take advantage of the hand washing stations located in restrooms, portable toilets and food areas throughout Frontier Park."

Community level

Wyoming's COVID-19 community level has increased, on average, across its counties as of last week versus the previous seven-day period. This is according to the WTE's data comparisons.

Some 11 counties are in the highest category, newly including Laramie. This is an increase of four counties from the previous total in the high category.

Being at a high level means the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends people here resume wearing masks "indoors in public," according to CDC's website. The same holds for Natrona, another relatively highly populated county, like Laramie.

Over the course of CFD, Laramie County's coronavirus community level went from medium to high, and then back to medium again. Gamst said a community level change to "high" the day before Frontier Days began "did not change our overall safety plan."

With the annual event wrapped up, "the CDC did move us back up to red," Emmons wrote in an email Friday. "The recommendations are the same as before — we recommend that people follow the CDC guidelines that are included on the facebook post" from the local health department.

Emmons said that "as always we recommend that people stay home if they are sick, get tested if having symptoms make sure to wash hands often, consider wearing a mask in large crowds especially if immunocompromised and we encourage that everyone get vaccinated and boosted."

Near Cheyenne, Albany County, the seat of the city of Laramie, remains in the lowest risk category.

The CDC didn't comment.

'Tip of the iceberg'

Epidemiologist Brant Schumaker, director of the Wyoming-WWAMI Medical Education Program at the University of Wyoming, said even if any changes were to be seen in case numbers as a result of Frontier Days, that would likely only be "a tip of the iceberg."

"I think the cases that are being reported to the state are only a fraction of those that are occurring," Schumaker said. Many people may never test, and those who do may take advantage of widely available rapid tests, rather than a PCR test, which would be reported to the state.

"The challenges of handling an infectious disease like COVID, specifically the omicron variant, under our current political and societal preferences is extremely challenging," Schumaker said last week. "And despite relatively clear best practices for large group gatherings, it is almost politically untenable to put some of those practices into place in our state."

One number that has been steadily trending up at CRMC in recent months is the seven-day positivity rate, according to WDOH data. It was at 7.1% on May 11, 31% as of Aug. 1 and then fell to 21% on Monday.

The recent rise isn't troubling, experts said. And WDOH's representative, Deti, noted that "the last few weeks' statewide numbers for 7-day average of confirmed cases have gone down slightly."

"As long as we are not seeing an increase in hospitalizations or deaths, I do not see cause for alarm, personally," Chapman said.

While "you can't just look at one factor in isolation," Emmons recommended following CDC COVID-19 guidelines in taking precautions.

"Personal responsibility is really important," the official said. "Think about those around you. Think about yourself."

This online report has been updated with an additional photograph and with comments and data from the Wyoming Department of Health.

Jonathan Make is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's assistant managing editor and editor of the Wyoming Business Report. He can be reached at jmake@wyomingnews.com or 307-633-3129. Follow him on Twitter @makejdm.

Hannah Black is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's criminal justice reporter. She can be reached at hblack@wyomingnews.com or 307-633-3128. Follow her on Twitter at @hannahcblack.