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Grand Ronde Tribal COVID-19 timeline
March 3, 2020: General Manager David Fullerton suspended air travel for employees.
March 11, 2020: The Tribe postponed its first event because of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic – the Agency Creek Round Dance. It coincided with Oregon Gov. Kate Brown prohibiting gatherings of 250 people or more.
March 18, 2020 – Tribal Council suspended loan payments from Spirit Mountain Gaming Inc. and approved using up to $20 million from the Tribe’s line of credit to maintain account liquidity. The Tribe also declared its first State of Emergency.
March 19, 2020 – Spirit Mountain Casino closed to the public for the first time since it opened in October 1995.
March 25, 2020 – The Tribe held its first Facebook Live event to keep Tribal members informed.
April 1, 2020 – Tribal Council established the COVID-19 Relief Payment Program and extended 120 hours of PTO to casino and Tribal governmental employees.
April 23, 2020 – The Tribe granted employees 80 more hours of PTO.
May 18, 2020 – The Tribal government started a phased re-opening for non-essential employees.
June 1, 2020 – Spirit Mountain Casino re-opened after a 74-day closure.
July 3, 2020 – Spirit Mountain Casino instituted a mask requirement, coinciding with Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announcing mandatory mask requirements for all indoor public spaces.
July 2020 – The annual Marcellus Norwest Memorial Veterans Powwow was canceled.
Aug. 5, 2020 – The Health & Wellness Center reported its first new positive COVID-19 case.
August 2020 – The annual Grand Ronde Contest Powwow was canceled.
Aug. 27, 2020 – Grant Ronde Station, the Tribal convenience store adjacent to Spirit Mountain Casino, closed after contact tracing uncovered positive COVID-19 connections.
Oct. 23, 2020 – The Tribe announced that the 37th Restoration Celebration would be held virtually.
Nov. 5, 2020 – Two Tribal employees tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus for the first time, prompting limited campus access for several days.
December 2020 – The Tribe received more than $45 million in Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act funding in 2020.
Dec. 23, 2020 – The Tribe started administering COVID-19 vaccinations to essential health care workers.
Jan. 6, 2021 – The Tribe doubled its testing capacity from 28 to 56 tests daily.
Feb. 3-4, 2021 – The Tribe held a two-day vaccination clinic that attracted people from as far away as Reno, Nev.
March 3, 2021 – Health Services Executive Director Kelly Rowe announced that the clinic had started offering second dose shots of the COVID-19 vaccine.
March 22, 2021 – Thirteen of 15 Portland Trail Blazers’ players received COVID-19 vaccinations in the Tribal gym.
April 21, 2021 – An uptick in COVID-19 cases closed the Tribal government campus for three weeks.
May 13, 2021 – Despite relaxed mask-wearing rules for vaccinated people from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Tribal government continued requiring masks be worn indoors.
May 27, 2021 – Spirit Mountain Casino reinstated its mask mandate for casino guests.
May 31, 2021 – The Memorial Day celebration returned with a limited number of guest allowed to attend the outdoor event.
June 7, 2021 – The Tribal government ended its mask requirement for most fully vaccinated employees.
July 1, 2021 – The Tribal government ended temperature check stations and the mask wearing requirement on campus.
July 2021 – For the second year in a row, the Marcellus Norwest Veterans Powwow was canceled.
July 24, 2021 – The Tribe held an Indig-Immunity Youth Vaccination event to get Tribal youth vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus.
July 28, 2021 – The Tribal government returned to mask wearing for all employees while working indoors because of spread of the more contagious Delta variant.
Aug. 3, 2021 – The Tribal government started a three-week pause for everyone but essential employees because of an uptick in COVID-19 cases.
Aug. 11, 2021 – Spirit Mountain Casino reinstituted its mask mandate because of the Delta variant.
August 2021 – For the second year in a row, the Grand Ronde Contest Powwow was canceled.
Sept. 7, 2021 – Spirit Mountain Casino mandated that its employees become vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus.
Oct. 4, 2021 – The Tribal governmental campus re-opened to all employees after a two-month pause due to an increase in cases caused by the Delta variant.
Nov. 1, 2021 – Tribal governmental employees resumed normal work schedules and operations.
Nov. 22, 2021 – For the second consecutive year, the Restoration Celebration was held virtually.
Dec. 7, 2021 – The Tribe hosted a drive-through vaccination and booster clinic at its Wood Village property, the former Multnomah Greyhound Park.
Jan. 15, 2022 – Spirit Mountain Casino started hosting a month-long vaccination and booster clinic in its parking lot.
Jan. 19, 2022 – The Health & Wellness Center was monitoring 50 active COVID-19 cases as the Omicron variant spread in the state.
March 2022 – The Agency Creek Round Dance was canceled for the third year in a row.
March 11, 2022 – The Grand Ronde Tribal government made mask wearing optional for most employees and guests as COVID-19 cases in the state and community declined drastically.
March 12, 2022 – The state lifted its indoor mask mandate and Spirit Mountain Casino followed suit.