The Southern Ute Indian Tribal Chairman, Tribal Council, and Incident Management Team (IMT) are replacing the advisory issued on March 23, 2020 with a ‘Stay at Home’ Order effective today, Wednesday, March 25, 2020 at 3:30 p.m. Because it is crucial to slow down the spread of COVID-19, the Tribe is requiring all tribal members to stay at home unless it is essential. The Order is based on Tribal Council’s continuous assessment of this rapidly changing and serious public health emergency.
The Southern Ute Indian Tribal Council urges all tribal members to listen for radio announcements, check the Tribe’s official social media and website, or call the COVID-19 Call Center at 970.563.0214 for the most up-to-date information. The Tribe will make every effort to keep the membership informed. At the time of this release, there are no presumptive cases of COVID-19 on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation. Tribal members may leave their residence only to perform essential activities.
Essential activities consist of the following:
• Care for elders, minors, dependents, people with disabilities or other vulnerable people.
• To buy food, pet supplies and essential household products for themselves, a household member, a family member, an elder, person with disabilities, or other persons in need of immediate assistance.
• To obtain medical supplies or medication or to visit a health-care professional for yourself, a family member, a household member, an elder, person with disabilities, any other person in need of immediate assistance, or a pet.
• To care for a family member or pet in another household.
• To engage in banking or other financial transactions or services.
• To go to work in an essential or critical business activity or service as determined by their employer or a governmental authority.
• To engage in outdoor activities like walking, running, fishing, hunting, or walking a dog, as long as they maintain a safe social distance from others. Group sports are prohibited.
• To provide for the funeral arrangements of a family or household member.
• Travel required by law enforcement or court order or as necessary for participation in a legal proceeding. • Going to or from educational facilities to support distance learning or to get meals or related services.
• To get supplies to work from home.
• To perform other necessary household functions to maintain cleanliness of the home and to ensure the health and safety of the membership and their families, including for purposes of disposing of trash and using laundry services.
• To engage in other essential activities as authorized in writing by the Executive Office after consultation with the Tribe’s Incident Command Team.
The order also restricts the following:
• All public and private gatherings of five or more people.
• All visitors on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation (“Reservation”) located on Tribal or Trust land are directed to return home. For purposes of this order a visitor is a person who is not a tribal member, is not an invited guest of a tribal member, does not maintain his or her permanent home on tribal or trust land on the Reservation, or who is not an employee of the Tribe.
No visitors will be allowed to come on the Reservation, other than to pass through on a county, state, or federal highway, except for the following purposes:
• To provide medical or home care.
• To provide emergency services.
• To provide and allow for the continuation of essential and critical government services as determined by the Tribe.
• To provide deliveries of water.
• To provide deliveries of oil, natural gas, and other fuel for personal and tribal use.
• To provide for delivery of food, pharmaceutical products, and any other essential personal and household products.
• To provide for essential household and building maintenance, safety, and sanitation.
• To provide for vehicle maintenance.
• To participate in legal proceedings in the Southern Ute Tribal court.
• For public transportation such as taxis and other private transportation providers providing transportation services necessary for purposed expressly authorized in this Order.
• For the delivery of mail by the postal service and other shipping services.
• For the delivery of groceries, food, goods or services directly to residences or other businesses.
• To provide professional services, such as legal or accounting services, when necessary to assist in compliance with legally necessary activities such as representation in court or preparation of estate planning documents.
• To provide any additional essential services to tribal members and authorized residents on Trust or Tribal land.
Any individual who exhibits symptoms must isolate themselves. The Call Center has modified its hours to 8 a.m. until 5 p.m., 7 days a week. The Call Center is strictly an information gathering and dissemination resource for the tribal membership during this time. If you are a tribal member and concerned about your symptoms, please contact your primary care provider or call the Southern Ute Health Center at 970.563.4581 to speak with a health care professional.