Seton House Implements Vaccine and Mask Requirements

Following a vote at their board meeting on Sept. 15, Seton House is requiring families staying at their facilities to get vaccinated by Nov. 1 and for everyone in their offices to wear masks.

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Carrie Reece, executive director of Seton House, said that of the 22 families living in their facilities, eight families have already been fully vaccinated, while half of the unvaccinated families have gotten their first shot, and that they have not lost any participants due to the vaccine requirement.

Reece said they do not believe they will run into any issues with getting all 22 families vaccinated.

The reason for the policy change Reece said in an email is because of the increase in cases and one family catching the virus.

"The board put these policies in place due to the rise in cases community-wide, but also because we had a family test positive and become very ill. It was scary for the neighbors in that building because the symptoms were significant and no one at Seton House can afford to get sick or miss work!"

Reece said Seton House is a self-sufficiency program that provides resources, tools and support for single-parent families striving toward independence, with many participants come from incarceration, drug and alcohol treatment centers, and the Wyoming Rescue Mission.

Cases in Wyoming have been relatively consistent over the past month, with the seven day case average fluctuating between 497 at the beginning of Sept., peaking at 660 on Sept. 13, and going down to 482 by Sept. 29, while on Sept. 28 the state recorded the most deaths in one day so far due to COVID-19 at 41.

Compared to the rest of the country, Wyoming is currently third, behind Alaska and West Virginia, in terms of the daily average cases per 100,000 at 83, and second to last, behind West Virginia, in terms of its population being fully vaccinated, at 42%.

Reece said among families that were planning on leaving Seton House due to Emergency Housing and Urban Development vouchers, some chose not to get vaccinated, while others did, with all incoming families willing to be vaccinated prior to moving in.