By
Benny Polacca
With COVID-19 case reports decreasing locally, statewide and with vaccine opportunities now available to all individuals, the Osage Nation’s 14-month public health state of emergency will end June 2, according to Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear.
On March 19, 2020, Standing Bear declared a public health state of emergency for the Nation’s jurisdictional area after the COVID-19 pandemic started spreading in Oklahoma, prompting ON government campus buildings, except the Wah-Zha-Zhe Health Center, to close to the public for several weeks and non-essential employees were sent home at that time.
The Nation also canceled or postponed many annual public events and social gatherings, held its 2020 general election with COVID-19 precautions at the polling place, and Nation-paid employee travel was also paused due to the pandemic. A mask mandate later went into effect for employees and individuals occupying ON government buildings after buildings reopened and that mandate was rescinded as of May 3, according to an April 28 Executive Branch memorandum.
In a May 25 proclamation and statement announcing the public health state of emergency’s ending, Standing Bear said masks, social distancing measures, increased sanitary practices and vaccine inoculations all took place in the Nation and as a result, COVID-19 reported cases (monitored by the WZZHC) decreased, prompting the emergency declaration to be lifted. “We must maintain a state of alert and diligence, but an emergency is no longer the right description,” he said.
“As a result of these actions, the Osage people and their neighbors are congratulated as the disease has been contained to the point where continued good practices and social awareness should keep the danger of this disease within our sights for rapid reaction should it spread again,” Standing Bear said in the proclamation before declaring the public health emergency “shall end June 2, 2021, for the Osage Nation.”
According to the statement, the Nation, including WZZHC professionals, will continue to track any spread of the disease. Going forward, Standing Bear is urging all Osage people and neighbors to closely monitor any reappearance of symptoms because the “danger has not fully passed.”
The WZZHC continues to provide COVID-19 vaccinations for both Native and Non-Native individuals 12+ years old on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 7:45 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. For more information, including questions on vaccine availability for minors, call the WZZHC COVID-19 vaccine hotline at (918) 287-0076.
Original Publish Date: 2021-05-26 00:00:00
