The state of Kansas’s first UK Variant COVID-19 case is a student athlete at Fort Has State University.

According to the school in Hays, a student-athlete who tested positive for the COVID-19 virus as part of the university’s weekly student athlete testing program, has been identified through whole genome sequencing as positive for the UK variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE).

Case investigation and contact tracing are ongoing. Individuals who are at an elevated risk will be notified. KDHE deployed a mobile lab to Fort Hays State University Thursday. KDHE will conduct on-site testing that will yield positive or negative results within four hours. They will also collect samples that will be sent to the state lab for whole-genome sequencing analysis to identify potential COVID-19 variants.

Fort Hays State University’s Critical Incident Policy Group, Tiger Athletics, FHSU Student Health Center, KDHE and the Ellis County Health Department are working closely to coordinate the next steps in our joint response to the identification of this UK variant of the virus in Ellis County.

Fort Hays State University and the Ellis County Health Department want the people of Ellis County to know that the best way to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and its evolving variants is to continue to adhere to essential health and safety precautions, including maintaining physical distancing, wearing face masks, practicing good hygiene, staying home if ill, following isolation and quarantine recommendations, and getting vaccinated as soon as it is available.

The latest information on COVID-19 variants is available on the Centers for Disease Control Prevention’s website at:  https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/transmission/variant.html.