Nez vetoes reopening of tribal parks

WINDOW ROCK

President Jonathan Nez has vetoed the 100% reopening of tribal parks.

For weeks now, Navajo-owned touring businesses, vendors and Council delegates have requested the reopening of tribal parks at 100 percent during the tourist season.

Legislation passed unanimously by delegates was approved to reopening of tribal parks, the Navajo Nation Zoo and Navajo Nation Museum.

But Nez, Department of Health Director Jill Jim and other health professionals within the Health Command Operation Center are saying not so fast. There is a lot to consider.

“The health command, I think there has to be understanding that the authority given to the department is related to the expertise of the health medical field,” Jim said, “and all the things we do to surveillance COVID-19.

”We’ve heard of the Delta variant is unpredictable,” she said. “Our best defense is that we issue out public health emergency to protect the Navajo people. If we don’t have any flexibility to protect people, and we have a law to basically allow people to come into the Navajo Nation…

“If the cases get high again, it’s a threat on the Navajo people and livelihood to make sure COVID-19 doesn’t surge again,” she said.

The legislation passed by Council was a bill to fully open tribal parks at 100% to outside visitors and bypass the steps taken by entities such as Navajo casinos and other Navajo businesses.

The language of the bill also concerned Nez and Jim because it states “not withstanding public health emergency order,” which basically weakens the Nation’s mask mandates and other public health orders currently in place.

“The part that was concerning was the provision ‘not withstanding public health emergency order’ and opening up at 100 percent,” said Nez. “You see a big increase in park visitation all across the country. Do we have the capacity to open at 100 percent?

“Someone can argue with Health Command Operation Center and say: ‘not withstanding public health order,’ that includes your mask mandates,” he said. “So we don’t have to wear your masks.”

Right now in yellow phase, casinos, businesses and museums are all open but at 50% and only for Navajo residents. Tribal parks, Jim said, have been open for weeks as well but only to Navajo residents.

“If you open up at 100 percent you can’t control some of the COVID-19 prevention in practice,” said Jim. “That’s kind of risky at that point. If this were to pass and set a precedent, the health professionals won’t be able to protect the Navajo people.”

Outside the Navajo Nation, public health mandates continue to expire but the Nation remains strict on its public health orders to prevent another surge.

Jim said tourist and visitors may be on the Navajo Nation wearing masks because it’s mandated, but before they travel onto Navajo, and once they leave, those masks come off.

Also, another worrying thought is some visitors may not be vaccinated and these factors, along with not knowing where visitors and tourists are travelling from before they get to Navajo, is enough to not open parks at 100% capacity.

Rather than putting into law poorly written legislation, Nez requested the Navajo Nation Council hold a special session to consider rescinding Resolution CMA-16-20, which was approved in March 2020 and closed all roads to visitors and tourists.

Rescinding the resolution will allow the Department of Health to issue a new public health emergency order reopening parks at 50% capacity, in accordance with gating measures from the Department of Health.

“Based on the data and recommendations of our public health experts, we feel that opening parks to everyone at 50 percent capacity is feasible,” stated Nez. “That will allow us to monitor the impacts of reopening parks at limited capacity and consider gradually increasing that capacity level from there.

“If we allow visitors into our Nation at 100 percent, we don’t know where they are coming from and if they are fully vaccinated,” he said, “but our mask mandate will help to keep people safe.”

This week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention designated the COVID-19 Delta strain as a “variant of concern.” Researchers suggest that the variant, which was first identified in the country of India, is even more transmissible and may cause more severe illness than other variants.

Currently, the Navajo Nation has no confirmed cases of the Delta variant, but it has been identified in many areas including the city of Tucson.

As of Friday evening, 12 new COVID-19 cases were reported for the Navajo Nation and one more death. The total number of deaths is now 1,343. The report said 29,555 people have recovered from the virus, 278,551 tests have been administered, and the total number of cases is now 30,948.

Nez also said he was informed by Division of Economic Development officials that some tour businesses don’t have guides on salary but rather pay them under the table. This raises the question of do these Navajo employees of tour businesses even have health insurance?

When it comes to employees and businesses losing money, Nez recommended they be compensated through American Recovery Plan Act funds.

Nez said he listens to the recommendations given to him by public health professionals such as Jim and others at the HCOC, and the main priority is the safety and well-being of Navajo citizens.

Jim said she hopes delegates will put into consideration what the health community has been doing, and the gating measures that have been in place since last March, when they consider legislations that pertain to COVID-19.

“Opening up at 100 percent is possibly endangering workers but also the surrounding communities,” said Jim. “We can control to the extent the number of people that use services on the Navajo Nation, that’s why everyone is at 50 percent.

“If you have one for 100 percent for a service that really dominantly is for non-Natives, it’s going to be difficult,” she said. “I hope they have the capacity, which they might not, to do enforcement. We just don’t open hastily, we encourage a slow and gradual opening.”

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