Gallup emergency order to be extended (NM - city lockdown continued)

NM Health Department Press Room ^ | May 3, 2020 | NM Health Department

[CedarDave]

SANTA FE – An emergency declaration requested by the mayor of Gallup and authorized by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham will be extended through noon, Thursday, May 7, per the mayor’s request. The action is intended to continue the aggressive physical distancing in the community and thus mitigate transmission of COVID-19.

In response to an emergency request from Gallup Mayor Louis Bonaguidi, the governor at 12 p.m. on Friday, May 1, invoked the state’s Riot Control Act, authorizing her to enact further temporary restrictions to mitigate the uninhibited spread of COVID-19 in that city.

An emergency declaration made under the act is in effect until noon the third day after it becomes effective.

Mayor Bonaguidi on Sunday requested an emergency declaration be extended rather than allowed to expire Monday; the governor granted the request and will formalize the extension Monday. The mayor’s letter is attached to this news release.

The emergency declaration closes all roads into Gallup, limited business hours, restricted how many individuals could travel in a car at once and directed Gallup residents to remain at home except for emergency outings. Upon the mayor’s request, the hours of business closures will be amended. Business curfew hours will mirror the curfew on the nearby Navajo Nation, from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m.

“Only through the extension of the invocation of your authority under the Riot Control Act can our community impose the measures necessary to stem transmission of COVID-19,” wrote Mayor Bonaguidi.

Gallup city police and McKinley County sheriff’s department have partnered with New Mexico State Police and Department of Transportation to enforce the emergency order and road closures. The New Mexico National Guard has also provided support to this effort in a non-law enforcement capacity.

The Riot Control Act authorizes the governor to, for the temporary existence of a state of emergency, prohibit persons being on public streets and the use of certain streets and highways, among other broad emergency restrictions.

Because of the extreme heightened risk of transmission in the northwestern region of the state, McKinley County — along with neighboring San Juan and Cibola counties — remain subject to the Secretary of Health’s public health order of April 11.

Moderate easings incorporated in the modified public health order effective Friday, May 1, do not apply in those counties.

McKinley County as of Sunday afternoon had reported 1,144 positive cases of COVID-19, the most positive cases in the entire state, outstripping even far more populous counties.

[CedarDave]

As reported in an earlier thread, most cases of the virus are in the Rio Grande corridor (Santa Fe, ABQ metro area [Bernalillo, Sandoval and Valencia counties], Socorro and Dona Ana counties), Cibola County, west central NM (McKinley County) and northwest NM (San Juan County). The latter three counties have large populations of Navajo and other native Americans. The rest of the state's counties have two dozen or less cases of the virus.

[CedarDave]

Previous thread and discussion:

Gallup is on Lockdown (NM - No access to city from I-40)

[Bob434]

[[the governor at 12 p.m. on Friday, May 1, invoked the state’s Riot Control Act,]]

People are rioting there? No? Then what gives her the right to enact a riot control act? Are none of the republicans in the state gov there gonna challenge her legally on this?

[CedarDave]

New Mexico Covid-19 cases by county (May 3, 2020):

• Bernalillo County: 920
• Catron County: 1
• Chaves County: 23
• Cibola County: 68
• Colfax County: 5
• Curry County: 18
• Doña Ana County: 159
• Eddy County: 13
• Grant County: 16
• Guadalupe County: 15
• Harding County: 1
• Lea County: 12
• Lincoln County: 2
• Los Alamos County: 6
• Luna County: 7
• McKinley County: 1,144
• Otero County: 6
• Quay County: 4
• Rio Arriba County: 24
• Roosevelt County: 10
• Sandoval County: 416
• San Juan County: 736
• San Miguel County: 2
• Santa Fe County: 107
• Sierra County: 1
• Socorro County: 45
• Taos County: 20
• Torrance County: 16
• Union County: 3
• Valencia County: 50

Those counties with low total cases remain under strict stay-at-home orders (except for some outdoor activities) and non-essential businesses (i.e. mostly small businesses) are still closed.

[Bob434]

[[“Only through the extension of the invocation of your authority under the Riot Control Act can our community impose the measures necessary to stem transmission of COVID-19,” wrote Mayor Bonaguidi.]]

Really? So we just cite any old acts in order to justify denying people their constitutional rights now?

Why not cite the Mann act to justify shutting down all roads?

Or “The Fugitive Slave Act” to justify allowing people to leave their homes without permission?

Or the The Fugitive Felon Act” to prevent everyone from leaving the state?

[CedarDave]

The title “riot Control Act” is the short title for any emergency management actions. See this link for provisions and details:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3840820/posts?page=144#144

[lgjhn23]

“...Really? So we just cite any old acts in order to justify denying people their constitutional rights now?....”

The RATs payed good money for this DemoVirus and they’re gonna try to get as much mileage out of it for as long as they can. It was their “Plan B” IF impeachment failed.
REMEMBER IN NOVEMBER!!!! Vote all the RAT bassturds out! Not one, single, solitary vote for any democrat anywhere for anything...from dogcatcher on up. Vote em all out and keep em out.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Who could have guessed the Communist Revolution would arrive disguised as the common cold?

[Bob434]

thanks for the link

so she can claim this power during any flu season too then because ‘sick people out in public could transmit a potentially lethal flu to others’?

so citizens basically are living their lives ‘freely’, while at ‘the mercy of’ a gov who is ‘gracious enough’ to not enact the riot control act’ at any given moment?

[CedarDave]

Governing citation:

Upon request of the mayor of a municipality or the sheriff of a county or a majority of the members of the governing body of the municipality or county having jurisdiction and after finding that a public disorder, disaster or emergency which affects life or property exists in the state, the governor may proclaim a state of emergency in the area affected. The proclamation becomes effective immediately upon its signing by the governor, but the governor shall give public notice of its contents through the public press and other news media.

I'll give the governor a pass on this proclamation. I-40 goes through Gallup and a traveler stopping for gas, food or supplies could come in contact with a covid-19 person and further spread it to other areas in and out of state. Also, Native Americans seem more susceptible to its effects and Gallup is a major location for them to purchase supplies. Their getting the disease and spreading it further on the reservation will just increase mortality.

BTW, a Navajo FR member posted on another thread how he had lost at least three close friends that were members of a family where the father was a Baptist minister to the Navajos in the Shiprock area.

[CedarDave]

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[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

I wonder why the Navajo nation is being hit so hard by the c-virus yet the tribes in Oklahoma, even though infected, are not suffering near as much.

[Trump Girl Kit Cat]

Perhaps the tribe in NM are more overweight than those in Oaklahoma

[Bob434]

well the thing is- the death rate for this virus is very very low- (Although admittedly it ‘could partially have’ something to do with all the sheltering inplace orders-) We don’t know what the effects would have been had we just treated this like any flu season- more elderly and more sick and obese folks would have been exposed no doubt- it remains to be seen what will happen when the country ‘opens back up’

If however this really is no deadlier than regular flu seasons, then all these shutdowns are an over-reaction- especially given the fact that we have a very effective and very cheap drug combination that has proven to save lives IF state governors allow it to be used at earliest signs of the virus-

I think statistical results need to be analyzed in areas where lockdowns didn’t occur, and many elderly and sick people lived- in order to get a true read on just how deadly the virus actually is- I don’;t think we’ll ever know with a high degree of certainty- but we can get close i think to actual %- How many elderly and sick got the virus and didn’t die? We are only hearing about the ones that do die because that makes headlines-

I think what we need is a comparison between this virus and the flu in elderly folks who get it and die as compared to the elderly who get the flu and die- is the % with this virus in elderly higher than regular flu? Or do more elderly actually survive it compared to regular flu?

I don’t know about Indian folks- i hadn’t heard they were more susceptible? (Course I’ve not been on often on FR- so i probably missed it?

[Bob434]

could be population is older in that area? Or have more health conditions because of diet or something?

[CedarDave]

I’m thinking it’s more of a location issue. Most of the reservation is in a topographic area classified as arid to semiarid. Navajo tribal members are organized in 110 “chapters” with many families together in a relatively small area where water and electricity are available. Outside the chapter areas, the hogans are sparsely located but they still rely on chapters for water and community activities.

The concentration of members in central areas can be one reason (along with underlying health issues) that make their disease numbers so high.

[hanamizu]

“The emergency declaration closes all roads into Gallup...”

---

Does this mean I-40 is closed as well or are the exits/entrances to the Interstate closed?

[Mr. Rabbit]

I suspect rampant alcoholism and the health problems that come with it are a big part of the high mortality on the reservation. Add in the fact that Gallup is the closest fairly large town for a lot of people on the reservations in that area, and it creates a natural “hot spot”.

Every time I’ve been in Gallup, it’s pretty much a guarantee I’ll be accosted by one or more winos begging for booze money. It’s pretty sad and depressing.

[redcatcherb412]

Gallup Indian Medical Center (GIMC) is a 99-bed hospital in Gallup, New Mexico, on the border of the Navajo Reservation. Clinical specialties at GIMC include Internal Medicine, Cardiology, Anesthesia, OB/GYN, General Surgery, Orthopedics, Ophthalmology, ENT, Radiology, Pathology, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Emergency Medicine, and Urology. The workload at Gallup is one of the largest in the Indian Health Service with 250,000 outpatient encounters and 5,800 inpatient admissions annually. GIMC has the largest staff of all Navajo Area IHS facilities.

That is the primary hospital for the tribe who has their capitol Window Rock AZ 26 miles away. A large percentage of the virus cases and tests are on Arizona not New Mexico residents accounting for the large positive cases and low death count. Unfortunately those natives driven across the state line less than a half hour drive away end up being a NM virus statistic. NM only has a small segment of reservation in the state, the vast bulk of the reservation and its population is in Arizona. The idiot governor of NM doesn't take facts into account as she shuts a town of 22,000 folks down militarily with threat of arrest. The statistics will not change as medical transport to a federal tribal hospital will NOT be intercepted by NM national guard troops and denied entry to Gallup to get their patients tested or treated. That of course would be racist and the chica guv needs to stay PC so the positive case count will climb as usual.

[CedarDave]

Does this mean I-40 is closed as well or are the exits/entrances to the Interstate closed?

I-40 through the area is open but access to the city is prohibited. As far as I know, leaving the city is not a problem, just new entries. Also, those on state highways approaching the city from the north or south and demonstrating a need to access only I-40 can get permission to proceed without stopping in the lockdown area.