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Thursday, August 6, 2020

Hoopa Valley Tribe Reports 23 New COVID-19 Cases

Posted By Kym Kemp on Thu, Aug 6, 2020 at 9:55 AM

The number of known COVID-19 cases rolled into Hoopa Valley Reservation this week like a tidal wave shocking the community. Early on Monday, the reservation had one known case and that person was no longer considered contagious. However, by late Monday, Hoopa Office of Emergency Services reported there were six known active cases.

By Tuesday night, Eva Smith, M.D., M.P.H., Public Health Officer reported via the Hoopa Office of Emergency Services, “[T]here are 12 New Positive COVID-19 cases.”

Then late last night (Wednesday), Hoopa Office of Emergency Services announced that the reservation now had a total of 24 cases, 23 of which were currently active.

Dr. Teresa Frankovich, Humboldt County’s Public Health Officer, clarified yesterday that Hoopa Valley Reservation cases are counted as part of Humboldt County’s and appear on the dashboard. However, she pointed out, “[T]hey don’t always become part of our data on the same day that those test results are available to Hoopa, because we actually need to receive copies of those test results and vet those, etc., before they become part of our case count.”

The rapidly growing number of cases on their lands prompted the tribe to shut down non-emergency operations for two weeks “to allow for contact tracing to be completed as well as for individual tribal departments to create reopening safety plans.”

The tribe also reiterated the emergency ordinance in effect on the reservation during the crisis which include that those living there are not allowed to travel out of the county “without an approved Travel Safety Plan” which is a form provided by the Tribe’s COVID-19 Incident Management Team.

In addition, the rules include “Non-residents are restricted from visiting the reservation” and “Some areas of the reservation are temporarily off-limits, even to tribal members.”