Babaamaajimowinan (Telling of news in different places)
Babaamaajimowinan (Telling of news in different places)
On April 21, the Spirit Lake Health Center, Spirit Lake Tribal Health, North Dakota Department of Health and North Dakota Army National Guard conducted COVID-19 testing at the Spirit Lake Nation. Pictured, from left, are nurses Lisa Wallace, Jessica Tweeton and LaShawnda (Fassett) Kenner. Cheri Schaffer / Special to The Forum
BISMARCK - Leaders of the Spirit Lake Tribe have mandated the wearing of facemasks in public and instituted a curfew as a COVID-19 outbreak spreads through the tribe's reservation in northeastern North Dakota.
Tribal Chairman Douglas Yankton Sr. issued the mask order last week, citing rising cases within the tribe and the need to protect older residents and those with underlying health conditions from the fast-spreading illness.
Benson County, which encompasses most of the tribe's reservation, has confirmed more than 60 new cases in the last two weeks, and 42 residents are still known to be infected. Benson now has the seventh most active cases of any county in the state despite having a population of only about 7,000. Tribal and local health officials believe most of the cases in the county have come on the reservation.
Reader Comments(0)