BREAKING NEWS: COVID and Flu Outbreak in the Trans Pecos Region

By Viviana Sanchez, Skyline Reporter 

ALPINE - As students have settled into their classes for the spring semester, the seasonal cold, the flu and COVID have settled in with them. 

Positive COVID and flu test results have resulted in canceled classes at Sul Ross State University and hospitalizations across the Trans Pecos Region. 

Rosemary Briseno’s, associate professor of English at SRSU, Women’s and Gender Studies class has been the highest known profile casualty as three of the four students enrolled in the course reported illness, and as a result, her class was canceled.

The Skyline reached out to Dani Bell, Sul Ross’ health services coordinator, about the situation. 

“Five hospitalizations as of last week. Quite a few have tested positive for the flu in the Alpine area,” Bell said. 

Bell does not have an exact figure for these cases. She has reached out to Big Bend Regional Hospital for them, but they declined to comment.  

Bell said there is a “higher risk” of disease transmission in Alpine and at Sul Ross because of the “close proximity” of the population. 

Memories of the strain COVID placed on the hospital haven’t quite been forgotten. At the height of the pandemic, only two respirators were available for severe cases.  

If students or staff are feeling ill, they are advised to contact the nurse’s office to obtain a COVID test.