FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT

Melvin J. Baker, Chairman – 970.563.0100

Lindsay J. Box, Communication – 970.563.2313

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 2, 2021

 

 

AMENDED PUBLIC HEALTH SAFER AT HOME ORDER

OF THE SOUTHERN UTE INDIAN TRIBE

 

WHEREAS, authority is vested in the Southern Ute Indian Tribal Council by the Constitution adopted by the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, and approved November 4, 1936, and amended October 1, 1975, and August 27, 1991, to act for the Southern Ute Indian Tribe; and

 

WHEREAS, under Article VII, Section 1(n) of the Constitution, Tribal Council has the authority, “To protect and preserve the property, wildlife and natural resources of the [T]ribe, and to regulate the conduct of trade and the use and disposition of tribal property upon the reservation.”; and

 

WHEREAS, in January 2020, the World Health Organization designated the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak as a pandemic; and

 

WHEREAS, on February 18, 2020, in Res. No. 2020-025, Tribal Council declared a state of emergency to respond to the spread of COVID-19; and

 

WHEREAS, based on the increasing incidence of COVID-19 in the region and the danger COVID-19 posed to the tribal membership, on March 25, 2020, Tribal Council issued a Stay at Home Order requiring tribal members to stay at home unless performing essential activities; and

 

WHEREAS, since March 2020, the Tribe’s Incident Management Team (“IMT”) and Tribal Council have been monitoring the spread of COVID-19 and actively managing the Tribe’s response in accordance with the Southern Ute Community Emergency Operations Plan and Southern Ute Health Center Communicable Disease Response Plan; and

 

WHEREAS, the Southern Ute Community Emergency Operations Plan identifies operational phases for the Tribe’s emergency management activities, which phases include a Response Phase and a Recovery Phase; and

 

WHEREAS, as the Tribe moved into the Recovery Phase, Tribal Council adopted a Tribe-Wide Recovery Plan, which includes a system of phases and levels of pandemic management; and

 

WHEREAS, the phases include Phase 1 “Stay-at-Home;” Phase 2 “Safer at Home” (including Levels 1, 2, and 3 of Phase 2); Phase 3 “Protect Our Neighbor;” and Phase 4 “Fully Open;” and

 

WHEREAS, on March 29, 2021, after the IMT recommended to Tribal Council that current data supported moving into a less restrictive phase than Phase 1 – Stay at Home, Tribal Council issued a Safer at Home Order, which superseded the Stay at Home Order and eased previously established restrictions; and

 

WHEREAS, Tribal Council may issue additional Public Health Orders throughout the pandemic to implement or modify specific restrictions as circumstances warrant and new information becomes known; and

 

WHEREAS, based on the fact that a vaccine is readily available in and around the Southern Ute Indian Reservation and the risk of COVID-19 transmission has diminished, Tribal Council finds it appropriate to amend previously established requirements.

 

NOW THEREFORE, TRIBAL COUNCIL HEREBY ORDERS:

 

1. There are three different levels of the Safer at Home Phase, and the level in effect at any given time shall be established by the IMT based on the criteria identified in the Tribe-Wide Recovery Plan, Appendix A.

 

2. Phase 2 – Safer at Home that was put into effect on March 29, 2021 remains in effect.

 

3. All persons who come within the exterior boundaries of the Reservation and are within the jurisdiction of the Tribe shall comply with this Order and any other Public Health Order then in effect.

 

4. Contractors working on the Reservation shall continue to complete a health screening before entering an indoor workspace.

 

5. Outdoor and certain indoor activities continue to be permissible, provided those activities comply with the Event Caps in effect at the time of the activity.

 

6. Tribal entities and departments shall continue to follow their reopening plans.

 

7. This Amended Safer at Home Order supersedes the Safer at Home Order put into effect on March 29, 2021.

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this Order shall become effective at 12:01 a.m. on June 2, 2021 and will be in effect until further notice.

(Signed by Chairman Melvin J. Baker)

 

06012021 – Amended Public Heath Safer At Home Order for the SUIT