Two previous out-of-state COVID-19 deaths added to Wyoming’s count

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Two Wyoming residents who died of the coronavirus while in Colorado have been added to Wyoming’s count of fatalities from the illness.

The change brought Wyoming’s total number of deaths from COVID-19 to 10, the Wyoming Department of Health announced Monday.

An older woman from Carbon County died in Colorado in late April. The woman had other health conditions that made her more susceptible to the illness.

An older man from Laramie County died in Colorado in late March, which would make him the first person from Wyoming known to die from the virus. It wasn’t known if the man had health conditions putting him at higher risk.

“When Wyoming residents pass away in another state from a disease such as COVID-19, it is a widely accepted practice to track those deaths based on the location of the person’s permanent residence,” said Guy Beaudoin, deputy state registrar with Wyoming Department of Health.

“In Wyoming, we have instructed medical certifiers such as attending physicians and coroners that COVID-19 should only be reported on death certificates when the disease caused or contributed to a person’s death,” he said. “So if someone who happens to be positive for COVID-19 died due to an automobile accident, their passing would not be counted as a coronavirus-related death.”