Teton County Net Virus Cases Continue To Fall, Now Down 35%

Summary

• Net virus cases in Teton County have now fallen by 35%, from 34 to 22.
• As a percentage of Wyoming’s total, they are down from 21.38% to 6.34%, or a decline by over 70%.
• Meanwhile, for Wyoming as a whole, only 20 people have died from the new virus, compared to 66 people who died from the regular flu.
• Nothing was ever shut down or otherwise restricted for the regular flu.  So why should anything be shut down for a less lethal virus?
• At a minimum, Teton County’s outperformance should be rewarded by ending all virus restrictions and policies, just like for the regular flu.

All the curves when it comes to net virus cases in Teton County are going in the right direction:

1. They are falling in absolute terms.

2. They are falling in relative terms (compared to Wyoming as a whole).

Let’s see how the number of net virus cases in Teton County continues to fall both in absolute terms and relative to Wyoming as a whole:

Date	Teton net cases	Wyoming net cases	% of state
2020-04-03	26	125	20.80%
2020-04-04	26	138	18.84%
2020-04-05	30	150	20.00%
2020-04-06	30	158	18.99%
2020-04-07	31	159	19.50%
2020-04-08	31	156	19.87%
2020-04-09	34	159	21.38%
2020-04-10	25	151	16.56%
2020-04-11	26	152	17.11%
2020-04-12	29	160	18.13%
2020-04-13	29	164	17.68%
2020-04-14	28	152	18.42%
2020-04-15	26	148	17.57%
2020-07-02	24	320	7.50%
2020-07-06	24	355	6.76%
2020-07-07	22	347	6.34%

Data source: COVID-19 Map and Statistics - Wyoming Department of Health

As you can see in the table above, the net virus cases have been falling from 34 on April 9 until they now stand at 22 on July 7. That’s a 35% decline in approximately 90 days.

Furthermore, those net virus cases have fallen as a share of Wyoming’s total, from 21.38% on April 9 to 6.34% on July 7. That’s a decline of over 70%.

In other words, Teton County is a huge success story, and should be rewarded as such by seeing all of its remaining virus restrictions lifted 100%. That’s the only logical conclusion based on the facts.

Of course, we also have that other thing, which I have pointed out before: Fewer people in Wyoming have died from this new virus, than from the regular flu, this season:

Wyoming deaths	Influenza	Covid
2019-10	6	0
2019-11	9	0
2019-12	5	0
2020-01	12	0
2020-02	12	0
2020-03	11	0
2020-04	11	7
2020-05	0	9
2020-06	0	4
TOTAL	66	20

Data source: COVID-19 Map and Statistics - Wyoming Department of Health

As you can see in the table below, more people have died from the regular flu in the peak months, than have died from this new virus in its peak months. And thus far in July, zero people have died in Wyoming from the new virus.

I think we can safely say that the new virus has proven itself to be less lethal than the regular flu, in Wyoming. Perhaps not in some other geography, but the relevant geography for decision-makers in Wyoming, is this one.

Policy implications: Reopen everything

Correct me if I am wrong, but did either Wyoming or Teton County shut down schools, force businesses to close, and tell people where to walk and how to dress, because of the regular flu? If none of that was done for the regular flu, why is it done for a virus that has proven itself in Wyoming thus far, to be less harmful?

It’s time to end all restrictions, and reopen all schools 100%.

Pickup trucks such as the ones from General Motors (GM), Ford (F) and RAM / FCA (FCAU) are more common in relatively rural Wyoming, compared to the more urban and coastal areas of the U.S.