COVID-19 Cases Rise At BYU As Provo Parties Continue
Sep 10, 2020, 10:23 PM | Updated: Sep 11, 2020, 12:00 am
PROVO, Utah – Thomas Brazier is among the students urging others to follow pandemic guidelines, especially as the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases among students at Brigham Young University rose to 146.
“We’re in a pandemic, and we can all do our part,” he said. “I personally feel safe because I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing and wearing the mask, washing my hands, and trying to stay socially distant.”
But as you’ve likely heard by now, there’s growing concern that “Young/Dumb” parties, as they’re being called, have been encouraging the opposite.
Aislynn Tolman-Hill, public information officer for the Utah County Department of Health, said they have already seen positive cases tied to those parties.
“There’s pictures online of people not social distancing, people not wearing masks, and those really go directly against all of those guidelines that we see,” Toman-Hill said. “Which is definitely a concern for the population that is attending those events, as well as the greater population here in Utah County.”
Another one of those parties was scheduled for this Friday.
Toman-Hill said health officials aren’t saying necessarily not to have those kinds of gatherings, but anyone attending an event should follow posted guidelines.
“Look at the guidelines that have been out there for a long time — it’s to physical distance, to wear a mask. If people are going to still have social gatherings, that’s something that they need to do,” she said.
A BYU spokesperson said they have additional isolation housing for students who live on-campus, if needed. Some students said they’d rather play it smart.
“The amount of cases going on could have been prevented if we had listened to both BYU’s and Utah’s regulations,” said sophomore Chloe Olson. “We all should do our best to love our neighbor, and be able to prevent the cases.”