For immediate release: July 8, 2020
(Oneida Reservation) – The Oneida Business Committee acted today to extend the Public Health State of Emergency and the Nation’s Stay Safer at Home Declaration to August 11, 2020.
With the spike in active COVID-19 cases once again rising across the United States, the Oneida Business Committee is committed to keeping the reservation community safe by encouraging everyone to keep controls in place. The Oneida Nation has re-opened operations and businesses with approved safety plans in place that are reviewed by a team of medical professionals and safety experts. These plans include frequent sanitization of common surfaces, employee and client temperature checks, masking and social distancing as much as possible.
Tehassi Hill, Oneida Nation Chairman stated, “It has been over 120 days of this pandemic nationally, and there is not relief on the horizon. We must continue to keep the Public Health State of Emergency declaration in place in our efforts to keep the spread from expanding in our community. Every day we struggle with balancing our recovery and opening our businesses and keeping our employees and citizens safe. Our community has been more than patient and cooperative through this world pandemic and we appreciate their support, however we must look for a better road to recovery world-wide if we are to return to some type of normalcy. Safety measures and controls prove to be very costly in our recovery and we have already expended more than a half million dollars on our safety equipment and supplies as they are necessary. We are grateful for the federal money received to help us through these times, but we will need more to fully recover.”
Oneida cases have continued to remain lower than other Wisconsin communities. There are 50 total cases confirmed with 1 individual in isolation and two deaths that have been attributed to the COVID-19 on the Oneida Nation Reservation.
