In a social media post on April 7, 2020, President Raymond Nadolny of the Red Cloud Indian School said an employee of the educational institution is the first COVID-19 case on the Pine Ridge Reservation.
According to Nadolny, the elementary school employee and spouse recently traveled to California for a pre-scheduled medical procedure. The couple began a 14-day quarantine after returning to Pine Ridge on March 27.
The employee began feeling ill on April 3 but was not given a coronavirus test at the Indian Health Service hospital on the reservation, Nadolny said. The person was instead tested at a non-IHS facility, according to the post. The positive result came back on April 7.
“Thankfully, our employee contacted Red Cloud immediately upon learning of their positive test result, and we in turn immediately contacted the Oglala Sioux Tribe,” Nadolny wrote in the post.
The case is the only one on the reservation, President Julian Bear Runner said later in a video message later on April 7.
Bear Runner said the person was being treated off the reservation. Nadolny said the employee is hospitalized in Rapid City, where the spouse also has been transported.
Red Cloud Indian School is a privately-run Catholic institution.
Indian Health Service Announces New Deputy Director for Quality Health Care and Enterprise Risk Management (Indian Health Service)
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
White House Office of Management and Budget (Joe Biden Administration)
Tuba City Regional Health Care Corporation (Arizona, Navajo Nation)
Oklahoma City Indian Clinic (OKCIC)
Indian Health Service (Department of Health and Human Services)
Navajo Nation Town Hall (Arizona, New Mexico, Utah)
Navajo Nation (Arizona, New Mexico, Utah)
Tribal organizations statement on advance appropriations for Indian Health Service
Indian Health Service Statement on Advance Appropriations (Department of Health and Human Services)
Indian Health Service (Department of Health and Human Services)
Indian Health Service (Department of Health and Human Services)
Navajo Nation (Arizona, New Mexico, Utah)
Indian Health Service (Department of Health and Human Services)