GOSHEN COUNTY – With pandemic restrictions loosening and vaccinations available to Wyoming residents 12 and older, we may be closer to a return to normalcy, but COVID-19 is still having an effect in Wyoming.

Two weeks ago, case totals in Goshen County were at 12 active cases on Tuesday, May 25, but have steadily fallen since. As of Tuesday, June 8, there were a total of four lab confirmed active COVID-19 cases in the county and 363 active cases in the state of Wyoming.

In the state of Wyoming, there’s been a total of 51,218 lab confirmed cases as of Tuesday, June 8, since the beginning of the pandemic in March of 2020. In Goshen County there have been a total of 1,133 lab confirmed cases.

The death toll in Goshen County has remained at 24 as of Tuesday, June 8. Statewide there have been a total of 725 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.

As of Monday, June 7, there have been 3,469 first doses of the Moderna vaccine administered in Goshen County and 3,202 second doses administered. While 513 doses of the single dose Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine have been administered in the county.

As a reminder, the vaccine clinic is no longer being held at the National Guard Armory in Torrington. It is now located at the Pony Express Room in the Lincoln Community Complex (also known as Torrington City Hall).

Overall, in the state of Wyoming, 189,461 first doses of the Moderna/Pfizer vaccine have been administered and 168,371 second doses have been administered. Meanwhile, there have been 13,381 doses of the single shot J&J vaccine administered.

As a reminder, effective Saturday, June 19, the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services will no longer pay COVID-era unemployment benefits and will not take any new claims for the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation and the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance.

While the state will no longer allow the federal unemployment programs, the Department of Workforce Services said state assistance will still be available to unemployed people when those programs end.

According to the press release at the time of the announcement, “Wyoming needs workers, our businesses are raring to go,” Gordon said. “I recognize the challenges facing Wyoming employers, and I believe it’s critical for us to do what we can to encourage more hiring. Federal unemployment programs have provided short-term relief for displaced and vulnerable workers at a tough time but are now hindering the pace of our recovery. People want to work, and work is available. Incentivizing people not to work is just plain un-American.”