As the Omicron variant of COVID-19 begins to spread in Park County, the number of people known to be infected with the disease and the number of people hospitalized are remaining fairly steady.

The Wyoming Department of Health reported Wednesday that there were 119 people in the county with confirmed or probable cases of the disease — basically the same number as two weeks ago.

However, County Health Officer Dr. Aaron Billin cautioned this week that the cases are being “greatly undercounted,” as more people turn to at-home tests that aren’t reported to the Department of Health. Of the test results being reported to the state, some 27.7% have been coming back positive in recent days, Billin said, well above the pandemic average of 7.7% and an indicator that there’s inadequate testing.

Cody Regional Health is halting its drive thru testing today (Thursday), as the National Guard personnel who had supported the service are no longer available. Free at-home antigen tests are being offered by the federal government at www.covidtests.gov and the State of Wyoming is offering free tests through Vault at https://go.vaulthealth.com/2xJH/at-home.

The Department of Health announced Tuesday that three more deaths in Park County have been tied to COVID: a man and a woman who died earlier this month and another, older man who died in December. Two of the three people had health conditions that put them at higher risk of severe illness, the department said.

COVID-19 has now caused or contributed to 126 deaths in Park County, according to state data, coming among 6,285 confirmed and probable cases.

As of Tuesday, there were five people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the county, with four patients at Cody Regional Health and one at Powell Valley Healthcare. That was effectively unchanged from a week earlier.

Only five cases involving the Omicron variant — which is believed to spread more easily but potentially be less virulent — had been detected in the county as of Monday. However, because it can take a couple weeks to do that level of testing, Billin said the data is outdated.

“We believe the Omicron variant is now predominate in Park County,” he said.

Also this week, Park County School District 1 changed its COVID protocol to only track positive cases, deciding to no longer trace and quarantine those who had close contact with an infected person.

Students with positive cases will continue to be required to stay home and isolate for at least five days; they may return at that point — with masks encouraged for the following five days — if their symptoms are resolving and they’ve been fever free for at least 24 hours. Students and staff should not return to school unless their symptoms are “significantly improved.”

“ALL students who remain symptom free can come to school as normal,” the district said.

In a Facebook post, Billin said determining how long an infected person should remain in isolation “is a balance between reducing viral transmission and getting people back to work/school to keep the economy going.”

He shared information published by the UK Health Security Agency, which he said suggested an isolation period of five days with two negative rapid antigen on days four and five may offer the best balance.

“Remember that less than 10 days [of] isolation only applies if you are significantly improved. You are more likely to be contagious for longer periods of time if you are older or your immune system is compromised,” Billin wrote.

Public health officials say that getting vaccinated is the most effective way to reduce the risk of getting seriously ill from COVID-19. As of Monday, 12,654 residents within Park County, or about 43.4% of the population, were fully vaccinated. The data represents a less than 100-person increase over the past two weeks.