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By Ellen Fike, Cowboy State Daily
Eastern Wyoming College in Torrington is moving to online and hybrid delivery of its classes for the rest of the fall semester due to a spike of student coronavirus cases on campus.
According to an announcement from the college, student exposure risk and the number of students ordered to quarantine have also increased in recent weeks, as has the number of coronavirus cases across the state.
Many of EWC’s classes will now be offered via Zoom.
The Douglas campus of EWC will not be affected by these changes, at least as of right now.
“We are not closing the campus down. We are trying to limit the number of students on campus and in the residence halls for safety reasons,” said EWC Director of College Relations Tami Afdahl. “The safety of our students, our employees and our community is our primary concern.”
On Monday, the college reported that at least three students tested positive for coronavirus. The majority of the students exposed to the confirmed cases live in the college’s residence halls.
Students in hands-on programs such as welding, cosmetology, and others will continue to receive their education through modified in-person delivery of their courses.
Residence hall students in hands-on programs such as welding, cosmetology, barbering, veterinary technology, nursing, CNA, and others will receive priority placement in the residence halls as referenced in the college’s reopening plan.
However, other students in residence halls are being advised to plan to leave the halls by Sunday.
EWC in Torrington will remain open for business with no changes to current operations or employee schedules, however. The EWC Fitness Center will remain open with limited capacity and mask use required.
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