Student-Athletes Test Positive for COVID-19

Western Wyoming Community College’s Rock Springs Campus reported that nine student-athletes test positive for COVID-19 as of today. There is a total of 13 positive student cases at Western. Seven students live in the Residence Halls and six students live off-campus. There are no positive employee cases at this time.

Western worked diligently to ensure that the positive students were isolated from their peers, and the people in contact with the students who tested positive were placed in quarantine in order to mitigate the risk.

“Within the Athletic Department, the safety of our student-athletes and coaches remains our top priority. We are working with Western’s Administration and Student Support Services to support our student-athletes as they continue with their coursework and coaches with their athletic-related tasks,” stated Athletic Director, Dr. Lu Sweet.

The College is working closely with public health officials to ensure the safety of the student body, employees and community members. The College continues to reiterate the message to people on campus, that it’s important to stay home if feeling ill, get tested, fill out the COVID-19 reporting form, wear a mask, practice good hyenine, avoid large groups and maintain a six-foot distance between people.  

Contact tracing is conducted by public health officials. Public health officials contact those who have possible exposure to the infected person, then make a recommendation on testing and/or quarantining. When there is a positive case, Western’s Dean of Students or Western’s Associate Vice President of Human Resources work closely with Public Health, so that the College can take follow-up steps to support the student or employee and to ensure learning outcomes are met and work-related tasks are managed.

Western has created an internal COVID-19 reporting form so that those who feel ill can report it to the respective COVID-19 Crisis Team lead, which would be the Dean of Students for students, or to the Associate Vice President of HR for employees. The form also allows people to report on behalf of someone else, such as an instructor or parent reporting for a student.

For Western students self-isolating or quarantining on campus, three meals per day are being provided and being left outside their door for no-contact delivery. Western’s Dean of Students communicates with the students self-isolating or quarantining on campus on a daily basis for updates. There are currently 24 students quarantining in the residence halls.

The Dean of Students and Associate Vice President of HR are in regular contact with those in self-isolation and quarantine off-campus.

Western’s COVID-19 Dashboard is updated daily with the latest case numbers. The daily numbers reflect the case number totals from the end of the day, the day before they are posted. Additionally, Western’s Coronavirus Updates website page contains the latest COVID-19 information as it pertains to Western.