BYU student tests positive for COVID-19

SALT LAKE CITY — Brigham Young University (BYU) reported on Monday that a student has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, on campus.

The BYU student lived in off-campus housing and the Utah County Health Department is now tracing who the student came into contact with, and when.

The Provo campus says the student has in question has returned home, but they do not specify where that is.

The school reports that, as far as they know now, this is the first confirmed case of COVID-19 coronavirus to be reported on the Provo campus.

The Utah County Health Department announced the county’s first case of community spread of coronavirus on March 17.

On Saturday, Weber State University in Ogden confirmed its first case of COVID-19. That person is a student-athlete and is currently self-isolating.

That student is an athlete on the track and field team and lives off-campus. The individual had initial exposure from a friend who doesn’t attend WSU after classes were canceled on March 13.

On March 14, the University of Utah reported its first case of COVID-19, a staff member and graduate student who tested positive after returning from another state. That student was reported to be self-isolating off-campus.

To date, one person in Utah has died after contracting COVID-19. Utah health officials said the patient had underlying medical conditions and was over the age of 60.

BYU and The Utah County Health Department have asked the community to be vigilant about following public health recommendations that will prevent the spread of coronavirus.