Western’s Board of Trustees vote to extend face covering mandate
by Western Wyoming Community College
September 22, 2021
ROCK SPRINGS, WYOMING – Western Wyoming Community College’s (Western) Board of Trustees met for a special meeting on Tuesday, September 21 and voted to extend the face covering mandate for an additional month, to be reviewed at the next board meeting on October 19.
The mandate applies to all those on Western’s campus including students, employees and the public.
The Board of Trustees considered a number of factors when deciding to extend the mandate. Their goal is to keep the campus community safe and open for in-person instruction, keep athletes competing, and to support in alleviating the strain on local health departments. Although Western’s campus cases remain low, Sweetwater County’s cases have increased significantly.
Sweetwater County has moved to the highest level, "dark red", according to the Wyoming Department of Health’s color-coded transmission indicators, a significant increase since the Board of Trustees’ last meeting when the face covering mandate was implemented. There are 1,301 cases per 100,000 residents with a 15.6% positivity rate. The county currently has 276 active COVID-19 cases.
"Extending the face covering mandate is a preemptive solution in response to the recent surge in COVID-19 cases in our communities. We hope to see these numbers decline in the coming weeks," stated Dr. Kim Dale, President of Western.
The College continues to hold vaccination clinics on campus for students and employees. The clinics have allowed 33 people to get vaccinated so far.
Face coverings are required in all areas where social distancing cannot occur, including indoor classrooms, lab and clinical spaces, events and within College vehicles.
Students seeking exemptions from class due to COVID-19 can contact Wellbeing and Accessibility at (307) 382-1645 to arrange accommodations, and employees can contact Human Resources at hr@westernwyoming.edu. Western continues to encourage those who feel unwell to stay home if they are sick.
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