COVID-19 Hits Baylor's Top Student Influencers, Brooklyn and Bailey McKnight

Just four days after Baylor University began in-person classes, two star students who help promote the college, Brooklyn and Bailey McKnight, tested positive for COVID-19, they announced on Instagram.

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Brooklyn and I tested positive for covid today after testing negative last week. We are aware this is going to raise a lot of questions but before commenting pls read the rest of this! As you guys know, Baylor chose to do some in person classes as well as some online classes. They have taken every precaution, including mandating masks, requiring students to test negative before coming back to school, and many, many more precautions. It is NOT due to in person classes that this happened. As you also know, Brooklyn went to Utah and filmed the 10 dates in 10 days video in early August. She tested NEGATIVE after filming this series in order to come back to school so it did NOT come from that either. We have been unbelievably careful by wearing masks in public, as well as social distancing, limiting the number of ppl we come in contact with and more. We have followed all precautions. So this raises the question... how did we catch it? Brooklyn and I live with two other roommates, who have also been unbelievably careful. Baylor is contact tracing every positive case, and unfortunately both roommates were listed as contacts by someone who tested positive. Both were asked to quarantine at home and to stop attending classes. Within a few days 3/4 of us in our house started showing symptoms and immediately went to get tested. Please be aware of large gatherings and be mindful of CDC guidelines. Limit who you are seeing. Be socially distant when you can. It’s possible you might be asymptomatic and then transfer it to a friend who is more at risk, or to an older family member or friend. So here we are. Positive for corona! #2020 It’s not exactly what we had imagined it to be, but it’s different for everyone. We want to be open about the experience since we are sure y’all are very curious about the process. We will keep y’all updated daily on stories! Comment any questions you have for us and we will do our best to respond:)

A post shared by Brooklyn and Bailey (@brooklynandbailey) on Aug 28, 2020 at 4:48pm PDT

"As you guys know, Baylor chose to do some in person classes as well as some online classes," the caption reads. "They have taken every precaution, including mandating masks, requiring students to test negative before coming back to school, and many, many more precautions. It is NOT due to in person classes that this happened."

The twins write that they tested negative for COVID-19 before returning to campus, which was required by the university, according to its website, but they believe they caught the virus from their roommates, who were linked to someone who tested positive. "Within a few days 3/4 of us in our house started showing symptoms and immediately went to get tested," the caption reads.

On their Instagram Stories, Bailey says her symptoms were a sore throat, chills, congestion, and headaches, while Brooklyn says hers were extreme headaches and fatigue. Since testing positive, they have been taking vitamin C and sitting outside. According to a Harvard Medical School article, vitamin C has not been proven to help people infected.

As of Aug. 29, Baylor had 456 active cases of COVID-19, according to its dashboard. Baylor's 2019 total enrollment had 18,033 students. Baylor's Phi Gamma Delta fraternity was suspended for an off-campus party, according to Baylor's student newspaper.

In the Dallas Observer's 2019 cover story about the McKnight twins, we learned Baylor pays the twin influencers to promote the university, so it seems like a bit of a shock they would announce being infected on Instagram. Journalist Anne Helen Peterson writes, "Are Brooklyn and Bailey compelled, by [the] administration, to publish this? I’m guessing not. But if they want to continue their brand partnership ... what else would you post? The financial relationship between the two compels them to behave as high profile boosters for the college’s COVID plan, even though these cases would not be proliferating if the university hadn’t brought students back to campus."