President Trump Declares Disaster in Wyoming Due to Coronavirus
President Donald Trump on Saturday declared that a major disaster exists in Wyoming due to the outbreak of COVID-19.
The declaration follows Governor Mark Gordon's request for the same during a news conference on Wednesday. Gordon's request and President Trump's declaration include the Wind River Reservation.
With the declaration, federal funding is now available to state, tribal and eligible local governments as well as certain nonprofit organizations for emergency protective measures.
As of Saturday afternoon, laboratory testing had confirmed 253 cases of the novel coronavirus in Wyoming residents. The state health department also listed 87 probable cases on its website.
Of those confirmed cases, 129 people have recovered. Although the virus has been reported in 19 of the state's 23 counties, Wyoming is still the only state to report no virus-related deaths.
Pete Gaynor, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, named Lee K. dePalo as the federal coordinating officer for federal recovery operations in the affected areas, according to a statement from the White House on Saturday.