CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - Wyoming lawmakers will hold a two-day special legislative session in response to the COVID-19 illness as it plans to further relax restrictions intended to slow the spread of the coronavirus, Gov. Mark Gordon said Thursday.
The May 15 to May 16 special session will coincide with new rules that could allow more restaurants and bars to reopen, with servers wearing protective masks and patrons spaced more than 6 feet (2 meters) apart, Gordon said at a news conference.
Most bars and sit-down restaurant dining establishments, aside from a handful of recently approved local exemptions, have been closed in Wyoming since March.
Wyoming officials have allowed hair salons and other personal-service businesses to reopen in the past week under rules set to expire May 15.
“We are tirelessly working every day to get Wyoming back to as close to what we remember as we can,” Gov. Mark Gordon said at a news conference. “It won’t be exactly a return to the way it was. But it will be a return to a new normal that we will all be very thankful to have.”
If all goes well, places where larger numbers of people congregate, such as churches and movie theaters, could reopen following the next phase, Gordon said.
Gordon made the announcements a day after confirmed coronavirus cases in Wyoming surged by 27, including 24 in hard-hit Fremont County. The rate of all cases of unknown origin, suggesting spread within the community rather than families, has edged downward in recent days to around 27%, according to the Wyoming Department of Health.
Wyoming as of Thursday had 635 confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus, of which 428 people had recovered. One person has died.
Gordon at the news conference signed a proclamation for a brief special session to allocate $1.2 billion in federal funding toward government and businesses costs associated with the virus. It will be Wyoming’s first special legislative session since 2004.
It won’t resemble any previous legislative session in Wyoming. A handful of legislative leaders will convene in Cheyenne with the rest meeting by video online.
Meanwhile Thursday, the number of people in Wyoming who applied for unemployment benefits last week dropped compared with the week before.
A total of 2,026 people sought temporary unemployment assistance in the state during the week ending May 2, according to state and federal data.
That’s a 42% decrease from the number of claims filed the prior week, but a 515% increase in the number of applications filed during the same week last year.
The state has processed 32,290 claims for unemployment since March 14. That represents 12.0% of the total workforce eligible for the unemployment insurance program.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.
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