Schools record COVID-19 infections

While COVID-19 infections have remained low in Sweetwater County, students in Green River have been getting infected by the novel coronavirus.

On Monday morning, administrators at Lincoln Middle School informed parents through an email that a student had tested positive for the illness and resulted in five students being quarantined. Other students have recently tested positive as well.

Last week, Sweetwater County School District No. 2 announced multiple confirmed cases within Green River schools. The district announced Thursday evening a student at Truman Elementary had contracted the virus, leading to three other students at the school being quarantined. A staff member at Expedition Academy was also confirmed to have contracted the virus the same day, but had already been quarantined prior to the positive test.

Friday, the district announced a member of the Green River High School cross country team had tested positive as well, leading to the entire 20-person team being quarantined Friday.

Michelle Cordova,the school nurse at GRHS, said the students receive orders from the county’s health, which excuses their absences if they’re quarantined or placed in isolation.

According to Craig Barringer, the district’s superintendent, while the district has had a few positive tests, only four out of approximately 2,400 students have contracted the disease so far. He also said the district hasn’t had to quarantine a lot of students because they’re following protocols such as wearing masks and socially distancing when they can. He also said testing hasn’t been administered by the district, with students who may have been exposed to the virus only getting recommendations to have a test performed.

Overall, Sweetwater County has seen an uptick in coronavirus cases during the week. According to information from the Wyoming Department of Health, Sweetwater County had 36 active cases recorded as of Tuesday evening, while 20 residents are suspected of having the disease, but have not been tested. Overall, the county has had 351 confirmed cases, with 333 recoveries recorded.