A great deal of my work involves travel across the county to meet with supporters of Red Cloud Indian School. An investment in Red Cloud Indian School is an investment in the state of South Dakota.
That travel has stopped.
On booking a trip to Chicago, Delta immediately flagged me. “Customers traveling to the City of Chicago from Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas are subject to a mandatory 14-day in a home or hotel room.” Trip to Chicago, canceled.
My next destination is New York City. Instead of booking a ticket, I did my homework. New York established metrics, setting a record low for COVID infections. The same metrics were used by New York to add South Dakota to a travel advisory list.
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Trip to New York City, canceled.
The total amount of time to travel to either state would include 28 days in quarantine. Fourteen days in quarantine in New York City or Chicago, another fourteen days in quarantine on the reservation, and a return to the reservation to quarantine would only happen if I tested negative in Rapid City.
Travel is not an option.
South Dakota recently reported several days with more than 300 new COVID cases a day. Two days after addressing the National Republican Convention, Governor Noem called the increase in COVID “a little bit of an increase.” In the same article, KELO News reported that “the number of Covid-19 patients in the hospital has increased by almost 38 percent in just three days, now at 80 hospitalizations.” I do not understand the metrics that balance South Dakota’s Health and South Dakota’s economy.
South Dakota can continue to operate without clear metrics, but do not be misled. There are economic implications. And, on the reservation, there are life issues.
For the foreseeable future, I will be on the phone to supporters around the country, or in a Zoom meeting. I will adapt, just like our children. I’m pretty sure my eleven-year-old will enjoy the company.