Mescalero Apache Tribe updates COVID-19 mitigation requirements

Editor's note: This story was updated to reflect the purpose of the executive order. 

MESCALERO – The Mescalero Apache Tribal Council updated its COVID-19 mitigation requirements and emergency declaration intended to slow the spread of COVID-19.

The Mescalero Apache Tribe announced in a Nov. 24 executive order that COVID-19 mitigation requirements were changing on the reservation as vaccinations were increasingly available and infection rates declined. 

The new policy removed a requirement that all people on the reservation wear face masks regardless of vaccination status. 

Proof is not required under the new order to establish vaccination status, and all Tribal employees must still wear face masks during working hours. 

Face masks were not required for tribal personnel if they work alone and in a place not often visited by the public, the executive order states.

Masking at Inn of the Mountain Gods was also eased for patrons who are fully vaccinated wherein they do not have to wear a mask.

Social distancing was still encouraged to slow the spread of the virus. 

The announcement altered an emergency declaration issued in March 2020 when COVID-19 first hit New Mexico, removing a requirement that all people on the reservation wear face masks regardless of their status. 

There is currently an average of six positive COVID-19 cases on the Mescalero Apache Reservation, according to Mescalero Apache President Gabe Aguilar.

A person is considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19 two weeks after the second dose of a two-dose vaccination series or two weeks after a single-dose vaccination series.

"If an individual is not fully vaccinated, as defined herein, then he or she is considered unvaccinated," the executive order states.

NEW Executive Order 21-07 - Official Website of the Mescalero Apache Tribe

More:Otero County officials resist COVID-19 mandates despite county's high rate of infection

Those who violate COVID-19 restrictions as laid out in the executive order may be subject to criminal penalties.

Tribal employees violating the order could face disciplinary actions and non-Tribal people can be removed from the Mescalero Apache Reservation, the executive order states.

There have been 19,883 COVID-19 tests performed since March 2020 with 1,318 of those tests coming back positive for COVID-19 as of Nov. 26, according to the Mescalero Apache Tribe.

This is an average of 2.5 positive COVID-19 cases per day over the last 10 days, according to the Mescalero Apache Tribe.

More:Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center activates Crisis Standards of Care due to COVID-19

There have been 33 deaths attributed to COVID-19 on the Mescalero Apache Reservation since March 2020. There are currently no hospitalizations. Information is from Indian Health Services and the New Mexico Department of Health.

Enjoying our stories? Why not subscribe? Click here to subscribe.

In Otero County there were of 8,114 positive COVID-19 cases since March 2020, 6.506 reported recoveries and 122 Otero County deaths attributed to the virus, according to the New Mexico Department of Health.

Nicole Maxwell can be contacted by email at nmaxwell@alamogordonews.com, by phone at 575-415-6605 or on Twitter at @nicmaxreporter.

More:What to know about omicron, the new COVID-19 variant in South Africa