It also stated that failing to comply with the health order could impact a tribe’s ability to “obtain assistance and reimbursement for emergency protective measures such as law enforcement and other measures necessary to protect public health and safety.” “This will, at a minimum, include restricting access to tribal lands by the general public,” the letter read. In it, Gore said if the tribes did not comply with the order, he would be forced to “take measures to protect public safety.” The sheriff sent a second letter to the tribes on March 19. In a letter sent on March 18, Gore informed the tribes that any establishment that refused to follow the county’s new rules would be in violation of the public health order - an order the sheriff had the power to enforce.Īlthough casinos were in operation at the time, five tribal governments announced that day that they intended to close on March 20.

Police officers on the Navajo Nation are fearing for their lives during COVID-19 pandemic. Nothing prepared her for the COVID-19 outbreak World & Nation Column One: She’s patrolled the Navajo Nation for nearly 20 years. Nearly a week later, San Diego County imposed new public health restrictions that banned indoor dining and gatherings of 50 or more people - two regulations that directly affected casinos. Around that time, they also learned of an employee who had been exposed to the virus.

While arguing that Lexington had wrongly refused to reimburse the tribe for losses it suffered during the pandemic, the tribe also shed light on how quickly COVID-19 began affecting casinos and how seriously the county responded to that potential public health threat.Īccording to the lawsuit, around March 12 - a day after the World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus a pandemic - the Jamul Indian Village learned that two Jamul Casino employees and a casino patron had likely contracted COVID-19. the company that operates the Jamul Casino and a branch of the Jamul Indian Village’s tribal government - against its insurance provider, Lexington Insurance Co. 6 suit was filed by the Jamul Indian Village Development Corp. A lawsuit filed by one of San Diego County’s tribes reveals that COVID-19 was already spreading among casino employees and patrons in the early days of the pandemic and that Sheriff Bill Gore, in an effort to get casinos to close, threatened to restrict access to tribal lands.

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