Three Affiliated Tribes approves mask mandate

NEW TOWN, N.D. - The Three Affiliated Tribes have put in place a reservation-wide mask mandate.

Tribal Chairman Mark Fox told Your News Leader the tribe’s business council formally approved the mandate last Thursday. It requires masks to be worn in all facilities within the reservation.

There are increasing penalties for non-compliance, both for individuals and for businesses. Fox indicated the tribe is working on figuring out enforcement of the mandate, though he added masks were already required inside tribally-owned facilities. This is an expansion of that.

“The thing that has changed now is we’re basically saying all entities, not just those tribally-owned and operated, all entities must abide by this,” said Fox.

The tribe’s online COVID dashboard indicates they’ve had 370 confirmed cases out of more than 8,400 tests administered, and five deaths, as of Tuesday

You can find more information on the tribe’s COVID-19 response here.