Use caution if family members test positive for COVID-19

Mission, OR. – The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation Incident Command Team urges residents of the Umatilla Indian Reservation to exercise caution when interacting with those who have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.

Over the past week, Yellowhawk Tribal Health Center identified six people who tested positive for the virus. Each of them were contacted by contact tracers and it became clear that they had all been in contact with each other.

However, this number does not demonstrate community spread. Rather, it is a reminder that families must create their own routines to minimize close contact with people who live in their household or family members who live in separate households and have tested positive. Multigenerational families who live together must be on high alert.

"If you or someone in your household tests positive, you must quarantine within your home and/or identify an isolated location," said Lisa Guzman, Yellowhawk CEO. "Contact tracers will provide you with detailed recommendations but every family should make a plan for how they will provide meals and adequately separate a family member in their home if they get sick."

The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation is made up of the Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla Tribes, formed under the Treaty of 1855 at the Walla Walla Valley, 12 statute 945. In 1949, the Tribes adopted a constitutional form of government to protect, preserve and enhance the treaty rights guaranteed under federal statute.