EAGLE BUTTE, S.D. (KELO.com) — The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in South Dakota continues to operate checkpoints at the reservation borders to stop non-tribal members from driving through in an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Part of the reservation covers Dewey County, where there’s been over 20 new cases of COVID-19 reported in the last two weeks.
State epidemiologist Dr. Josh Clayton says the Health Department is looking into what caused the spike in numbers.
“We do know that the tribe is doing some mass testing and we’re looking to evaluate those results.”
Information posted on the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe’s Facebook page yesterday (July 9) says they’ve had 33 total positive cases with 29 of those still actively recovering.
South Dakota Health Department Secretary Kim Malsam-Rysdon says the state is working with the tribes to be sure all have the COVID-19 testing supplies they need.
Malsam-Rysdon says while the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe hasn’t asked the state for assistance, they are getting testing supplies.
Malsam-Rysdon says state officials also hold weekly conference calls with most tribes and a separate weekly call with tribal leaders.
(Jody Heemstra, Dakota Radio Group, contributed to this report.)
