PROVO -- Three missionaries at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Missionary Training Center in Provo have the swine flu. Fifteen others suspected of having it are isolated.

Isolation had been a critical strategy Utah health officials used to keep the virus contained, but not anymore. Now they're only concentrating on the high-risk patients, but the MTC is a special case.

Soon-to-be LDS missionary Ryan Smith will enter the MTC this Wednesday. It's a moment he and his family have been waiting for, for a long time, but a phone call Monday informed family members they won't be able to escort Ryan inside to say goodbye. "They said drop me off at the curb with my luggage," Ryan said.

Friends and family are now being asked to say their goodbyes outside because three missionaries have the swine flu. Church officials say their mission is to keep the H1N1 virus from coming into or out of the MTC.

"We've had protocol in place for these kinds of things for a number of years. We isolate them," said Elder Richard G. Hinckley, executive director of the Church's Missionary Department.

Hinckley says they've had outbreaks of other viruses before and similar protocols are used. However, this time it will permanently change how parents say goodbye to their children at the MTC.

"Those [parents] who typically do come, from this area, will be asked to drop them off, from this point forward in time, at the MTC and say goodbye to them at the doorstep and not come into the buildings," Hinckley said.

But outside of the MTC in Salt Lake City, health officials are scaling back their approach to the swine flu. "We don't need to know every single person [that contracts the disease]," said Dr. Dagmar Vitek, medical director for the Salt Lake Valley Health Department.

That means you're not likely to see any more schools shut down, and every single case won't be tracked. The strategy has changed.

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State health officials say the number of confirmed swine flu cases in Utah has jumped by 122 since late last week.

"What we're focusing on is mostly tracking and treating the seriously ill, because we know the virus is out there and it's circulating," Vitek explained.

Circulating and acting much like the seasonal flu, not the pandemic many feared. But circulation is exactly what Church leaders are trying to stop. "We are already going to hold the missionaries who are in the MTC for an extra five to 10 days and make sure they get through any incubation periods before sending them out," Hinckley said.

With recommendations for the general population changing, many parents have asked us why officials aren't shutting down schools. Health officials tell us shutting them down won't stop the virus, but washing your hand and staying home when you're sick can help limit the spread of swine flu.

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Story compiled with contributions from Lori Prichard and Paul Nelson.

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