The Menominee Tribe and Its COVID-19 Incident Command have been taking necessary actions to ensure the health and safety of our tribal community and surrounding areas from the recent COVID-19 pandemic.

With this in mind and the concern of rising COVID-19 cases, Menominee Tribe’s Emergency Management Order #2 has been extended until Monday, August 17, 2020.

This orders extends the closing of Menominee Casino gaming facilities, bars-except for curbside pick up of food, and for farmers markets until August 17, 2020. Please read the attached order for more details.

As a reminder, Emergency Order#1 which establishes a curfew is still in effect through the end of August from 10:00 pm to 6:30 am. As well as Emergency Order #3 requiring wearing of masks, temperature checks, and other public health measures in our tribal institutions and businesses is still in effect until further notice.

Menominee Tribal Government offices and facilities, outside the critically essential facilities, will continue to be closed to employees and the public. Tribal employees will be working remotely, and will continue to service the tribe and tribal members by phone and email.

Waewaenen for understanding as we all do our best to protect the health and safety of our community.

unless otherwise modified or renewed by the Emergency Management Coordinator

IV. ENFORCEMENT

(1) Menominee Tribal Police Officers and Conservation Officers are authorized under law to enforce this Order.

V. PENALTY

(1) A person who violates this Order shall be subject to a civil forfeiture not to exceed $500.00 pursuant to §196-7 of the Code of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin.

A complete copy of the curfew order can be found here

Citing the significant risks COVID-19 poses, a resolution requiring face mask usage on the Menominee Reservation was approved at the July 9, 2020 meeting of the Menominee Tribal Legislature and is effective immediately.

Specifically the resolution requires all residents and visitors to the Menominee reservation age ten and older to wear a face mask covering any time they are, or will be in contact with other people who are not household members in public or private.

The resolution states that employers, educational and governmental facilities and all places of businesses on the Menominee Reservation should provide masks to staff and patrons who do not already have a mask. It also lists certain circumstances when masks can be removed.

A copy of the resolution can downloaded here.

(Keshena, WI) – The Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin received financial assistance from the U.S. Department of the Treasury under the CARES Act to assist with the unforeseen costs associated with planning, prevention, and response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Tribe is required to provide detailed financial reports and an audit on the use of these funds to the Treasury Department. As is our tradition, detailed information on these expenditures and the total cost of government will be reported to enrolled members at the Tribe’s Annual General Council in January.

Members have requested an update on the use of CARES Act funds. Due to the pandemic, it is not possible to safely host a Tribal General Council at this time. Instead, the Chairman’s Office is providing this statement to inform enrolled members on the use of federal funds approved by the Tribal Legislature on July 23, 2020, by Ordinance.

Approved uses of funds:

The funds must be spent by December 30, 2020 or returned to the U.S. Treasury. Expenditures must be for COVID-19 related activities that were not part of the Tribe’s budgets as of 3/31/2020 and cannot be used for a per-capita type distribution or replacement of lost revenue.

Because of the deadline of December 30, 2020 some of these projects may not be feasible. Work is fast-tracked where possible and every effort is being made to get all projects completed. Planning timelines and right of way approvals needed to access land make carrying them out difficult.

Construction of isolation homes was deemed impossible because of the funding deadline and immediate need for isolation centers. The homes purchased were the only homes not under contract to another buyer at the time of purchase. They are also located in areas where objection by tribal members to the immediate planned use would be minimal. Further, Tribal Government has made it a priority in recent years to purchase land and property back inside the boundaries of the reservation when we have the ability to do so. Purchasing land is the only way to recover land lost by the Tribe during termination. The purchases help us meet that priority.

The Tribal Legislature and employees of Tribal Government are committed to stopping the spread of COVID-19 and to protecting our members from this pandemic. All functions of our government are actively working our response plans to keep the reservation safe and help those families who have already been impacted.

Menominee, Shawano — Shawano-Menominee Counties Health Department would like to provide a few updates regarding COVID-19. We have seen increases in COVID-19 cases across Wisconsin. In both Shawano and Menominee Counties, we have seen doubling of cases within a week’s time. Both counties currently have a high COVID-19 activity level.

Public health continues to use the tools we have available to help limit the spread of COVID-19. We view our goal to be to save as many lives as possible. It has been a long road since this pandemic started, and we thank you for helping us to save lives in Shawano and Menominee Counties. Below are some of our current tools and some updates to public health guidelines.

Communicable disease reporting is mandated by state and federal laws and contact tracing has been part of public health for many years. Contact tracing helps to identify individuals who may have come in contact with a virus. By finding the people who have been in contact with a virus, we can stop them from potentially spreading the virus to others, especially if they do not know they have it. Any health department may contact you, it depends on where you may have been noted as a close contact to someone. We understand there are concerns about scams out there, so here are some links to information regarding what to expect with contact tracing.

Governor Tony Evers declared a new Public Health Emergency on July 30, 2020 and also issued an Emergency Order and masking mandate for Wisconsin. Masking is another effective tool we can use to help limit spread of COVID-19. People who may not know they are infectious can spread the illness to others when they cough, sneeze, talk, sing, or raise their voice. Wearing a mask or facial covering helps to decrease the potential of people spreading illness without symptoms.

If we would like our students to get back to school in September (and keep schools open), it is important that we start wearing our facial coverings now to help take the case counts down. Anyone over the age of 5, please wear your face coverings in public places and especially in situations where it is difficult to maintain physical distancing. Here is a link to the Governor’s order related to requiring face coverings in certain situations and some additional information related to use of facial coverings.

Shawano-Menominee Counties Health Department receives a lot of questions about whether or not events should move forward. To address some of these questions, we would like to present to you an Event Planner Safety Assessment. Anyone who is considering holding an event is encouraged to complete this assessment and follow these considerations.

There have been some recent updates to recent quarantine and isolation guidance. We have also been made aware of some confusion about the recommendations for isolation or quarantine. Here are some of the most important points to note about the current quarantine and isolation guidelines.

• Isolation is the time that someone, who is sick, is to stay home and away from public places to avoid spreading the virus to others.

• Quarantine is the time that a person (who is not sick) who was a close contact to someone who was sick, is to stay home and away from public places to avoid unknowingly spreading the virus to others.

• Being a close contact to someone who tests positive for COVID-19 would be defined as one of the following:

• Here is an updated decision tree for isolation and quarantine. You may use this at a glance to help decide who and when people should be in isolation or quarantine.

Once again, thank you all for your help with keeping case counts down in Shawano and Menominee Counties. Together we can slow the spread of the virus to save lives and help preserve businesses and activities. Be safe and be well.

As a result of the increase in COVID-19 cases on the Menominee Indian Reservation, the following routes/services will be discontinued until further notice.

•Neopit Fixed/Flex •Shawano Fixed/Flex

•Keshena North •Keshena South

All regularly scheduled ADA routes for medical and shopping trips will continue to run as normal.

Riders will also notice changes to the vehicles including Plexiglas barriers to protect both the driver and passengers. Vehicle capacities have also been reduced to maintain social distancing guidelines.

MDOTS HAS ALSO IMPLEMENTED THE FOLLOWING PRECAUTIONS AIMED AT PREVENTING THE SPREAD OF COVID-19:

1.SEATING LIMITATIONS:

2.WE ENCOURAGE RIDERS TO:

Per Public Health Officer-Dr. Amy Slagle's instruction a rider who is coughing or showing other signs of illness must use a mask while riding public transportation. Drivers will have masks on hand to provide to individuals at their discretion. If a rider will not wear a mask when asked, the driver has the right to refuse transportation and this individual will need to find other means of transportation. This requirement applies to riders of all ages.

This procedure will remain in effect until masks are no longer available.

Menominee Regional Public Transit is also taking extra precautions to sanitize all vehicles used for transport. Passengers can be assured we are doing everything we can to minimize the risk of exposure.

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we continue to safely provide services to everyone who needs a ride.

Menominee Regional Public Transit

877-648-9287

Applications for our Shawano school tripper routes will be accepted beginning Monday, August 10th, 2020.

Applications can be obtained on our website: https://www.mitwbus.com/PDF/Rider_Authorization_Form.pdf or in person at Menominee Dept. of Transit Services. However, since the public is not allowed inside the building at this time, please call the receptionist (715-799-3222) and someone will meet you outside.

Please keep in mind that all passengers riding Menominee Public Transit will be required to wear a mask. Bus capacities will also be limited to maintain social distancing recommendations. Other precautions have also been taken including seat dividers and increased cleaning/sanitation schedules.

If you should have any questions, feel free to give us a call at (715)-799-3222.

The College of Menominee Nation recognizes that CMN students are facing hardships during COVID. With the sudden closure of our campus during the Spring semester, students were not allowed access to the resources we offer. The Summer Semester was completely online and closed to students and visitors. After review of the student fee, we feel compelled to offer a reimbursement for the Summer 2020 fee and partial for the Spring 2020 fee.

We will be making adjustments to your Spring and Summer 2020 accounts. We will apply 50% of the Spring 2020 student fee and 100% of the Summer 2020 student fee to your account.

Please watch your student emails for further information.

Madison, Wis. — Nurse Disrupted announced the launch of an emergency effort to recruit nurses in the fight against COVID-19 as it surges in parts of Wisconsin and around the country. Nurse Disrupted provides a turnkey solution for pandemic response planning, virtual screening with licensed nurses, and secure documentation to help organizations overcome challenges like COVID-19.

If you are a registered nurse, retired nurse, or faculty from a nursing program that wants to provide practicum and leadership hours we want to partner with you. Visit nursedisrupted.com for more information.

The public health emergency declared by Governor Tony Evers on July 30 enables the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) to once again provide additional FoodShare benefits to eligible households. These benefits will help those Wisconsin families with the costs of food for July and August.

Under the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act, Wisconsin is able to provide FoodShare recipients with the maximum monthly benefit amount that is based on the number of people in their household. The USDA Food and Nutrition Service allows emergency benefits to be provided to states with declared public health emergencies. Wisconsin families received emergency benefits in March, April, and May; however, because the state was no longer under a public health emergency, families did not receive additional benefits in June.

“The pandemic continues to affect all Wisconsinites, but especially those whose income has been negatively impacted,” said Julie Willems Van Dijk, Deputy Secretary of the Department of Health Services. “The ability for eligible households to access additional FoodShare benefits provides an important lifeline, and helps meet one of our most basic human needs.”

FoodShare households not currently receiving the maximum monthly benefit amount for their family size will receive additional benefits bringing them up to that level. The additional July benefits will be available on QUEST cards on August 9, and the additional August benefits will be available on QUEST cards on August 23.

Households will receive a letter notifying them of the additional benefits. Households already receiving the maximum amount will not receive additional benefits.