ONEIDA RESERVATION, Wis. (WFRV) – The Oneida Business Committee acted on Wednesday to extend the Public Health State of Emergency and the Nation’s Stay Safer at Home Declaration until August 11.
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Oneida Nation said that due to the spike in active COVID-19 cases once again rising across the United States and its commitment to keeping the reservation community safe, it will be extending the Nation’s Stay at Home Declaration.
Oneida Nation Chairman Tehassi Hill 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.”
The Oneida Nation shared that it has re-opened operations and businesses with approved safety plans in place that are reviewed by a team of medical professionals and safety experts including frequent sanitization, employee and client temperature checks, masking requirements, and social distancing practices.
Hill stated, “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.”