Gov. Gordon: Wyoming Considers Relaxing Some Closure Orders

Wyoming officials are looking at relaxing some closure orders for "work-a-day" businesses like barbershops and beauty salons, Governor Mark Gordon said Tuesday evening.

"We're looking now at ways that we can maybe relax some of the requirements we have for barbers and beauty salons and others to sort of get people back working again in these pretty work-a-day kinds of professions everybody depends on," Gordon told Fox News' Neil Cavuto.

Gordon noted that Wyoming was on of the few states to never completely shut down. Instead, to some extent, the state leaned on individual counties to determine the strictness of their respective orders.

The governor said officials are expected to announce a public "dashboard" in the coming days the public can follow along with to see the state's progress on different COVID-19 facets.

"Despite what everybody says, we are limited on our testing capacity. We're working just like every other state to get adequate tests, adequate (personal protective equipment.) That's one of the measures were going to look at," Gordon said. The dashboard will also include the number of traceable vs. non-traceable COVID-19 cases in Wyoming.

Gordon has consistently stressed that any plan for the state to re-open would be "health data-driven." Last week, Gordon announced that statewide closure orders in Wyoming will remain in effect through at least April 30. It's unclear if the governor intends to extend those.

The closure orders have been met with protests from members of the public, business owners and elected officials.

Gillette State Representative Scott Clem has been particularly vocal on social media regarding the closure orders, going as far as to compare them to policies enacted in Nazi Germany.

But health officials say social distancing and closing gathering places like bars and restaurants is essential in keeping COVID-19 from quickly spreading. Left unchecked, the new coronavirus could quickly overwhelm hospitals and ICUs, health experts warn.

On Tuesday, three businesses in Johnson County were granted exceptions to closure orders with the blessing of the health officer there. Those businesses included two beauty salons and a gym.