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So far, no Yellowstone National Park employee has tested positive for Covid-19/NPS file

At the end of nearly two weeks since the park reopened, no Yellowstone National Park employee had tested positive for Covid-19, according to the park.

Working with health officers from the State of Montana and Park County, Montana, Yellowstone staff tested 43 non-symptomatic employees for COVID-19 on May 28 and 29. All test results came back negative. These employees are in front-line positions and have been interacting with the public over the past two weeks, since the park opened the Wyoming entrances on May 18.

As introduced in the park’s reopening plan, this surveillance testing will continue throughout the summer and target National Park Service and concessions employees who are first responders and/or work directly with the public.  

Surveillance testing creates two important opportunities: 1) the detection of COVID-19 carriers who aren’t showing symptoms yet, and 2) the ability to quickly isolate those individuals to protect public health. Approximately 100 tests are being conducted in Yellowstone National Park this week. The park will provide periodic updates on the surveillance program.  

“This is the most aggressive employee surveillance testing being conducted in the National Park System,” said Superintendent Cam Sholly. “We couldn’t do this without our partners in the states and counties. Our goal is to detect positive COVID-19 cases as early as possible, so we can isolate and support those employees, while reducing chances of spreading the virus. Information gained from this program will inform management decisions.”

Nationally, the Interior Department has not released any information regarding infection rates within Park Service workers since mid-April, when David Vela, the acting director of the agency, said several employees had come down with the virus.

Interior guidelines call for employees to conduct daily self-monitoring for symptoms of COVID-19 and to not report to work if they exhibit any symptoms or are feeling ill. 

"The NPS continues to track confirmed employee cases of COVID-19 and recovery, however we will only provide public information where an employee presented an exposure risk for the public based on CDC guidance," Park Service spokesperson Alexandra Picavet told Traveler last week. "In addition, where employees may have exposed any of their colleagues, the NPS Office of Public Health will work with local authorities and the impacted employees to follow proper public health procedures to keep one another safe."

Back at Yellowstone, U.S. Public Health Officer George Larsen, who is assigned to national parks in Montana and Wyoming, said he was "grateful that the leadership of Yellowstone has chosen to take the proactive step of conducting active surveillance for asymptotic cases of COVID-19 in the employee population. “Testing and isolation of those who are infected but not symptomatic has great potential to be protective of public health. The local county health officers have been so supportive, and we look forward to further refining this program with them.”

The park has also received substantial assistance from the State of Wyoming and Park County, Wyoming, to expand surveillance testing and symptomatic testing.

Visitation for Wyoming Entrances (May 18-31)