ROCK SPRINGS — Local restaurants, bars and churches are the first groups to seek exemptions from the state to reopen to the public.

The Sweetwater County Emergency Operations Center sent two variances to State Health Officer Dr. Alexia Harrist today asking that public dining rooms and churches be allowed to operate again under a list of specific guidelines.

EOC Public Information Officer Jason Mower said the variances were approved by County Health Officer Jean Stachon this afternoon, and “similar variances have been approved in other counties with smaller populations and a higher total number of lab-confirmed positive COVID-19 cases.”

Mower said the variances were submitted to the state this afternoon. While there is no clear timeline for Dr. Harrist’s decision, she and her staff are working diligently to review all county variances and in some cases making their decisions in a matter of a few days, Mower said.

Both variances include guidelines, recommendations and requirements that these businesses and organizations must comply with in order to safely reopen their doors to customers, patrons and parishioners in a way that minimizes the risk of transmitting or spreading the COVID-19 disease here in Sweetwater County.

“We hope to open in stages so that we can move forward with measured momentum and hold in place as needed,” said EOC Deputy Incident Commander and Rock Springs Fire Department Chief Jim Wamsley.  “No one knows if we are going to encounter a sudden surge or spike in new cases.  

“What we do know is that, fortunately, we have only had one new lab-confirmed positive case in 20 days,” Wamsley continued. “While we must act carefully and responsibly in our approach so that we don’t overwhelm our hospital or healthcare system, we also want to do everything we can to try to get people back to work, save our small businesses and restore our local economy.”