Health officials were not surprised to learn the new, fast-spreading coronavirus variant first discovered in the United Kingdom had been detected in Teton County.
COVID-19 metrics show Jackson Hole swinging in the wrong direction.
Teton County saw the stateâs largest, single-day increase in new lab-confirmed cases, with 86 reported Friday by the Wyoming Department of Health.
At the same time, Teton District Health Officer Dr. Travis Riddell said COVID-19 levels in wastewater, the communityâs positivity rate and other data were concerning.
âReally, everything unfortunately is pointing in the wrong direction,â he said during Fridayâs community update, livestreamed from Town Hall.
That data covered 251 new cases reported over the two weeks from Christmas to Thursday, but not Fridayâs spike.
Teton Countyâs seven-day rolling average for new cases was up to 25.6 as of Thursday, compared with the last low of 10.3 on Dec. 31, Riddell said.
After an experiment, START officials say the best way to move air through buses is by closing side windows and opening the driver’s window and a hatch in the rear.
START bus riders will likely have more company onboard going forward.
With an OK from Teton County health officials, and after the Wyoming attorney general said Jackson Holeâs public transit system was exempt from state health orders limiting bus capacity, the Jackson Town Council and Teton County Board of County Commissioners voted Tuesday to increase the number of people allowed to ride START buses at one time.
Teton County Director of Health Jodie Pond supports the increase but didnât say itâs safer â or more risky â than the previous situation.
In Pondâs view, operating buses under the state-mandated restrictions versus the town and countyâs new capacity limits, which allow 11 more people on Teton Village buses, and 12 more people on town shuttle vehicles, is âessentially the same thing.â