COVID-19 News Update: March 18, 2022

ROCK SPRINGS, WYOMING — Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County will end its COVID-19 Drive-thru Swab Station services on Saturday, March 26. It will no longer offer no-cost testing.

Sweetwater Memorial’s drive-thru is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday under the awning at 1200 College Drive through March 26. After that, COVID-19 specimen collection can be arranged at curative.com.

The hospital has operated the site since March 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic, said Mary Fischer, MHSC Medical Laboratory Director. Since then, the hospital has tested more than 48,000 people for COVID-19, including about 8,300 positive SARS-CoV-2 molecular tests and nearly 40,000 negative SARS-CoV-2 molecular tests.

Curative now offers no out-of-pocket cost COVID-19 specimen collection in Sweetwater County. Curative’s rapid PCR testing for COVID-19 will be operated by Curative in partnership with Sweetwater County Public Health and the Wyoming Department of Health.

Curative’s Hilltop Medical Testing Center offers walk-in testing from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays at 1220 Hilltop Drive, Suite 106, directly across the street from Sweetwater Memorial, said Jim Dunsmore, Curative’s Wyoming Regional Manager.

No appointment is necessary but is recommended. To make an appointment:

• Log on to curative.com. You may need to update your web browser to Firefox or Chrome. 
• DO NOT have food, drinks, candy, gum, mouthwash, tobacco, etc. up to 20 minutes before the collection. Once your appointment is set, drive to the testing station. Curative staff will have your kit and will oversee sample collection.
• Samples are sent to one of Curative’s three CLIA-certified, high-complexity laboratories for processing unless the test is a rapid COVID-19 test. Patients will receive their test results via text and/or email. Results also will be available at Sweetwater County Public Health.
• Patients can reach out to Curative’s Customer Success team at [email protected] or 888-702-9042 for any help they may need. 

MHSC pre-op swab: Sweetwater Memorial will continue to offer pre-op and pre-procedure COVID-19 testing for Sweetwater Memorial patients only. MHSC patients will be directed to the outpatient laboratory currently housed in the Foundation offices for the collection of Cepheid specimens. The patient can park in the parking lot in front of the outpatient lab, call the swab hotline at 307-448-7560, and request pre-op or pre-procedure swabbing. The outpatient lab is open from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. weekdays.

The hospital’s main doors will continue to be closed to the public. For hospital services, please use the Emergency Room entrance.

The following information is from the Wyoming Department of Health. New updates are posted Tuesdays and Fridays at 3 p.m.

TOTAL NUMBER OF CASES

New cases of COVID-19 in Sweetwater County since the last report: 6
Number of new cases of COVID-19 in Wyoming since the last report: 82

The number of lab-confirmed active cases of COVID-19 in Sweetwater County: 13
The number of lab-confirmed active cases of COVID-19 in Wyoming: 90

TOTAL NUMBER OF VARIANT CASES

Total number of variant cases (Delta) in Sweetwater County: 555
Total number of variant cases (Omicron) in Wyoming: 1,552
Total number of variant cases (All) in Wyoming: 10,792

VACCINATED VS. UNVACCINATED HOSPITALIZATIONS

Vaccinated Hospitalization in Sweetwater County: 10
Unvaccinated Hospitalization in Sweetwater County: 79
Vaccinated Hospitalization in Wyoming: 354
Unvaccinated Hospitalization in Wyoming: 1,718
Vaccinated Deaths in Wyoming: 169
Unvaccinated Death in Wyoming: 762

HOSPITALIZATION INFORMATION

Total number of COVID-19 related hospitalization in Wyoming: 17
Total number of COVID-19 related hospitalization in Sweetwater County: 1

VACCINATION INFORMATION

First Vaccine Doses Administered Statewide (Pfizer/Moderna): 267,929
Second Vaccine Doses Administered Statewide (Pfizer/Moderna): 239,535
Third Vaccine Doses Administered Statewide (Pfizer/Moderna): 111,112

Pediatric Doses (1st & 2nd) Administered Statewide: 14,335

First Vaccine Doses Administered (J&J Janssen): 22,513
Second Vaccine Doses Administered (J&J Janssen): 1,534

Total Doses Administered: 656,958

IMPORTANT LINKS

Omicron Variant found in Wyoming – More information can be found HERE.

COVID-19 Booster Shots – More information can be found HERE.

FDA fully approves 1st Covid-19 vaccine – For more information, click HERE. 

The Johnson & Johnson Vaccine has been approved for continued use. Please see the FDA & CDC Joint Press release for more information.

Guidance for COVID-19 Prevention in K-12 Schools – CLICK HERE to see the new CDC Guidance for K-12.

Funeral Expenses (There is funding from FEMA for funeral cost assistance) – CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.

News from OSHA Guidelines: 

• Guidance (OSHA Guidance on mitigating and preventing the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace) – CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE.
• News Release (OSHA issuing an emergency temporary standard to protect health care workers from the coronavirus.) – CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE.