Survey Finds Wyoming Has 18th-Fewest COVID-19 Restrictions

A recent national survey by the personal-finance website Wallethub says Wyoming has the 18th-fewest government-mandated coronavirus restrictions in the country.

The survey included a number of factors in determining its rankings, ranging from whether states are requiring people to wear facemasks in public (Wyoming doesn't) to whether states had statewide school closures (which Wyoming has done).

You can read more about the specific factors used to determine the rankings here. Overall, the survey said South Dakota has imposed the fewest restrictions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

Among other things, South Dakota was one of seven states to never order a statewide-school closure. Hawaii was found to be the state with the most restrictions. New York, which has had the most known cases of the coronavirus, has the seventh most restrictions in place, according to the survey. You can see the full Wallethub ranking of all 50 states and the District of Columbia here.

Wyoming was one of only a few states to never impose a statewide shelter-in-place/stay-at-home order, although Governor Mark Gordon did encourage state residents to avoid unnecessary travel and to stay at home as much as possible.

The state has now begun a phased lifting of restrictions, with local governments across the state being given a fair amount of latitude in devising their own local plans.

There have also been a fair number of protests around the state calling for a ''reopening" of the state economy as soon as possible, as well as some criticism of the governor's coronavirus policy by state lawmakers.

Rep. Scott Clem [R-Campbell County] has been especially outspoken in his criticism, arguing that the economic damage created by COVID-19 restrictions is worse than the virus itself in many cases.