Surveillance testing at Spirit Lake follows tribal shutdown, restrictions

On Tuesday, April 21, the Spirit Lake Tribe, Spirit Lake Tribal Health and the Spirit Lake Health Center hosted community preventative surveillance screenings for COVID-19. According to Major General Alan Dohrmann of the North Dakota National Guard, there were 290 tests conducted at Spirit Lake Tuesday. The testing was available for adults only and gave preference to individuals who work closely with the community as well as workforce members who would like to be tested.

As of press time, no positive accounts of coronavirus have been confirmed on the Spirit Lake Reservation or within Benson County.

This surveillance testing comes after a week that North Dakota netted more than 200 new cases of COVID-19, spurring the Spirit Lake Nation to take a dramatic move. On Tuesday, April 14, the Spirit Lake Tribal Council issued a directive for the complete shut-down of the Spirit Lake Tribe and entities. The following entities were closed by the order: Spirit Lake Tribe and all tribal programs, Spirit Lake Health Center, Little Dreamers Day Care, Spirit Lake Tribal Court, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Sioux Manufacturing Corporation, Cankdeska Cikana Community College, Spirit Lake Housing Corporation, Spirit Lake Mini Mall and all Spirit Lake Tribal Service Programs. The Spirit Lake Casino has been closed since Monday, March 23 in an effort to slow the spread.

On April 16, the Spirit Lake Tribe issued Executive Order 2020-02:

Any resident of the Spirit Lake Reservation must call before leaving the reservation to a high case report area (such as Grand Forks or Bismarck). Upon returning, residents must call in the time of return and begin the mandated 14 days of self-isolation before returning to work or into the community. Contact Yvonne Longie at (701) 230-5800.

All medical travel will be logged into the Spirit Lake Medical Transportation Office. Time leaving of reservation, medical facility location of travel and the return time is to be reported. For medical travel, contact Phyllis Dubois at (701) 381-2249.

Employment travel to and from the reservation is logged into the HR department. For Tribal Employee Travel, contact Bernadette Brown at (701) 230-7048.

Any outside visitors or business contacts must call the Spirit Lake Tribe to make a request. At this time, only essential contact on the reservation is allowed. Non-essential visits will have to wait until this virus threat is relieved and lifted.

This week's testing follows a mill of rumors claiming that Spirit Lake was experiencing an outbreak of coronavirus. Spirit Lake Tribal Chairperson Peggy Cavanaugh delivered a public address via KABU radio on Monday, April 20 to dispel such rumors. On the official Spirit Lake Tribe COVID-19 Facebook page, a post echoed this same statement. "As of right now, there are no confirmed cases in the Benson County area. However, this does not mean people don't have it. There is a possibility some do have COVID-19 but are not reporting, showing signs or symptoms, or have not been tested."